Displaying 2236 - 2250 of 7553
Evaluation
Project Generasi: Conditional Community Block Grants in Indonesia
Researchers partnered with the Government of Indonesia to evaluate the impact of community block grants and the additional effect of performance incentives. They found that community block grants improved health and education in Indonesian villages, and adding performance incentives sped up improvements in health.
Person
Dean Yang
Dean Yang is a Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the University of Michigan, where he studies international migration, human capital, disasters, crime, and corruption.
Evaluation
Cooking Stoves, Indoor Air Pollution, and Respiratory Health in India
While researchers found a meaningful reduction in smoke inhalation in the first year after households received an improved stove, there was no effect over longer time horizons. The difference between the laboratory and field results is due to households’ revealed low valuation of the stoves. Households failed to use the stoves regularly or appropriately, did not make the necessary investments to maintain them properly, and use ultimately declined over time.
Evaluation
Providing Health Insurance through Microfinance Networks in Rural Karnataka, India
Researchers partnered with SKS Microfinance to measure the impact of bundling a health insurance product with microloan renewals on health insurance take-up, and health care use and spending. They found that the requirement to purchase health insurance substantially reduced microcredit clients’ loan renewal rates, meaning that people were willing to give up credit to avoid buying insurance.
Evaluation
Using Encouragement to Overcome Psychological Barriers to Saving in Peru
Researchers examined the impact of an initiative to promote savings, through financial incentives, reminders, and messaging, on the savings behavior of the urban poor in Peru. Preliminary results found that the initiative increased the probability that clients reached their savings goals; negatively framed messages appear to be more effective than positive messages in getting people to save.
Evaluation
Credit with Health Insurance: Evidence from the Philippines
Researchers are examining the impact of offering health insurance through a microfinance institution on clients’ health behaviors and health outcomes, as well as on the institution’s profit, client retention, and default rates.
Person
Brittany Clottey
Brittany Clottey is a Research and Policy Co-op at J-PAL North America where she provides support for both the research and policy teams.
Evaluation
Interest Rates, Loan Maturity and Demand for Microfinance Loans in South Africa
Researchers tested the assumption of price inelastic demand using a randomized evaluation in South Africa. The results suggest that the demand curves were downward sloping, and steeper for price increases relative to the lender’s standard rates. Researchers also found that loan size was far more responsive to changes in loan maturity than to changes in interest rates.
Evaluation
Deposit Collectors in the Philippines
Researchers evaluated the impact of a door-to-door deposit-collecting service, which regularly collected funds from clients’ homes to be deposited at a local bank, on clients’ savings. Results demonstrated that clients who lived farther from a bank were more likely to take up the service, and clients who took up the service significantly increased their savings.
Evaluation
Effect of Media on Voting Behavior and Political Opinions in the United States
This study measured the effect of receiving free subscriptions to either a liberal or conservative-leaning newspaper on voters’ political knowledge and opinions in the United States. Results demonstrated that neither subscription had an impact on voters' political knowledge, but that both subscriptions caused voters to increase their support for the Democratic presidential candidate. This suggests that the informational effect of news exposure was stronger than the effect of the slant.
Person
Jessica Cohen
Update
J-PAL updates
September 2020 North America Newsletter
J-PAL North America's September newsletter announces a webinar series on charting the next decade of evidence generation in state and local governments, the new Mobility From Poverty Learning Agenda, and a new evidence review on tutoring.