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Browse news articles about J-PAL and our affiliated professors, and read our press releases and monthly global and research newsletters. For media inquiries, please email us.

Impact of Covid-19 Stimulus Packages on Small and Medium Enterprises in Chile

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of Chile’s economic stimulus package on the profits and survival of SMEs.

Branchless Banking Agents’ Profile, Limitations, and Potential for Agent Network Expansion and Improvement”

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in East Java, Indonesia to investigate the impact of the level and transparency of financial incentives on the take-up of these new banking services. They found that larger incentives caused an increase in take-up, but only when the incentives were not...

Mobile Phone-Based Messaging and Critical Health Behaviors to Reduce Covid-19 Spread in India

Girija Bahety
Dev Patel
James Richard Potter
Researchers working in India conduct an adaptive randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of a SMS-based information campaign on the adoption of social distancing and handwashing in rural Bihar, India, six months into the COVID-19 pandemic.

The impact of payments for ecosystem services on crop burning in India

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a PES program that offers financial rewards to paddy farmers for reducing burning of crop residue (or “stubble”) on stubble burning in Punjab, India.

Does Continuous Professional Development Improve Teaching at the Right Level in Zambia?

Researchers are evaluating the impact of the “Teaching at the Right Level” program on students’ foundational literacy and mathematics skills.

Vouchers for Private Schooling in Colombia

Joshua Angrist
Erik Bloom
Elizabeth King
Colombia used lotteries to distribute vouchers which partially covered the cost of private secondary school for students who maintained satisfactory academic progress. Three years after the lotteries, winners were about 10 percentage points more likely to have finished 8th grade, primarily because...

Perceptions of Female Leaders in India

Researchers studied the impact a quota system which randomly assigned villages in India to reserve village council positions for women. They found that quotas improved voters’ perceptions of the effectiveness of women as leaders and subsequently improved women’s electoral chances.

Household Water Connections in Tangier, Morocco

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to look at the effect of private connections in a setting where most households already had access to high-quality water through public taps. They found that households had a high willingness to pay for piped water, and while home water connection had no...