Researchers partnered with Tamweelcom, a microcredit institution in Jordan, to estimate the demand for loans that comply with Islamic law (sharia-compliant loans).

This study evaluated the impact of strongly-worded peer comparison review letters sent to high prescribers of quetiapine by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on prescribing behavior and patient-level outcomes. Researchers found that the letters caused substantial and long-lasting reductions in quetiapine prescribing, with no evidence of negative effects on patients.

Researchers evaluated the effects of a large-scale workplace wellness program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on employee health behaviors, self-reported health status, productivity, and total medical expenditures. The researchers found that financial incentives increased participation in the program, although only to a point.

Researchers studied the impact of a clinical decision support software system on high-cost imaging orders. They found that clinical decision support reduced the number of high-cost scans targeted by the software but did not change the total number of high-cost scans ordered.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the demand for private tutoring services, estimate how pricing can influence take-up and enrollment in these services, and examine how enrollment and performance differs by gender and age. Researchers found that demand for tutoring services decreases with increased prices, but that higher initial prices could help identify students who are more likely to utilize the services.

In Kenya, researchers are studying the impacts of a program that combines vocational training with one-time cash grants to boost youth employment and entrepreneurship.