In collaboration with the French employment agency Pôle Emploi, researchers evaluated whether interview and hiring rates of minority candidates changed when employers collect anonymous resumes. Making resumes anonymous did not affect the average number of interviews and job offers volunteer firms made, the length of the hiring process, or the use of other recruitment channels, but it reduced the likelihood that firms interview and hire minority candidates.

In Malawi, researchers studied the introduction of a daily minibus service that connected five rural villages and the nearby market town. Although a majority of households used the new bus service, demand was very sensitive to price and was never sufficient to cover operational costs.

Researchers examined the impact of receiving an invitation to a savings-focused financial literacy workshop on the financial decisions of Indian migrant workers in Qatar and their wives in India. A one-time financial literacy workshop in Qatar increased migrant workers’ joint financial decision-making with their wives. Among migrant workers with initially low savings, the workshop also increased total savings.

Researchers partnered with the Munich Opera House to conduct a randomized evaluation measuring the impact of a large-scale mail fundraising scheme on the frequency and amount of donations. While neither the presence of a lead donor nor differences in matching schemes affected the response rate to the mailer, having a lead donor nearly doubled the average amount donated.

Researchers partnered with the Bavarian State Opera House in Germany to evaluate the impact of a variety of communications strategies on the frequency of donations. They found that including a pre-filled bank transfer form in the letter substantially increased the response rate, perhaps because this lowered the effort required to make a donation. Providing non-responsive donors with a reminder to donate also proved relatively effective, but featuring slogans prominently on envelopes had no effect.

Working with a microfinance institution in Ecuador, researchers investigated whether providing timely reminders to save via text message can help people save more.

In “the text message capital of the world,” the Philippines, researchers tested the effect of text message reminders on client repayment rates. In contrast with previous research, they found that text message reminders did not increase repayment on average. Yet for repeat borrowers, who had known their loan officer longer, reminder messages with the officer’s name did result in significantly higher repayment rates.

This evaluation tested whether increasing access to information about sexual and reproductive health via a text message service could reduce rates of risky behavior. The new text message service did not have a measurable impact on health knowledge, but led people to perceive the risks associated with their sexual behavior more accurately. It also led to increased self-reported promiscuity among some respondents and increased abstinence among others.

Researchers conducted a two-year randomized evaluation of incentive schemes for tax officials in Punjab, Pakistan that found performance pay significantly increased tax revenues without harming taxpayer satisfaction.

In Namibia, researchers measured the impact of a community-based natural resource management program on livestock assets, income, social cohesion, and land quality. Community-based rangeland management improved rangeland grazing management, community governance of the rangelands, and farmer cooperation in managing the rangelands. However, the intervention had negative impacts on rangeland health.

An evaluation of a voucher program in urban Malawi found that providing information and reducing the price of circumcision only slightly increased take-up.