Researchers have partnered with a non-profit debt management provider and IPA to evaluate whether reframing difficult, long-lasting tasks, such as paying off large debts, into more easily-attainable “sub-goals” can help borrowers accomplish their goals of debt repayment and increase client retention in a debt management program.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to gauge whether enhanced financial stability impacted worker productivity in India. They found that giving small-scale manufacturing workers financial relief in the form of early wage payments increased their productivity and attention to detail on the job.

In South Africa, researchers partnered with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator to evaluate the impact of providing information about a job seeker’s skills on job seekers’ beliefs, search effort, and employment outcomes. Providing information to job seekers and prospective employers increased participants’ employment and earnings. Job seekers updated their beliefs and strategies for job search, and employers received information they valued.

Researchers are evaluating the impact of rapid re-housing on homelessness and health outcomes for single adult individuals.

Researchers are evaluating the impact of an innovative mobile phone-based digital finance program on loan repayment rates, investment decisions, savings, and use of other financial services, as well as agricultural yields and profits.

Researchers are evaluating the impact of providing the option of labeled remittances to Filipino workers in the United Arab Emirates on the amount of remittances sent and what those remittances are used for by their recipients.

By leveraging a unique, long-lasting relationship with an armed organization in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the researcher aims to better understand who joins armed organizations and why, as well as the effect of the participation motives on performance inside the group.

In Western Kenya, researchers compared three different approaches to subsidizing dilute chlorine solution to treat drinking water: a partial subsidy, a twelve month supply of free chlorine through monthly vouchers, and a twelve month supply of free chlorine hand-delivered. Safe water rates were much lower for households who had to co-pay for chlorine, but similar between households who received chlorine for free and households who had to redeem complimentary vouchers. This suggests that vouchers screened out households that would accept but not use the product under free immediate distribution, thereby keeping most of the benefits of free distribution while reducing wastage.

Researchers introduced a performance recognition system for employees to improve record keeping in clinics in Ekiti and Niger, Nigeria. They found that the performance recognition improved record keeping in Ekiti but not in Niger. Researchers suggested that important institutional, managerial and behavioral variables that were not measured may have played a key role in determining the viability and effectiveness of the intervention in each state.

Researchers evaluated and compared the impact of two different job search assistance policies on employment outcomes for young job seekers in Addis Ababa. Helping youth signal their skills to employers improved their earnings and job duration four years later, especially for youth who would usually fare the worst in the labor market. Reducing the cost of job search through a transportation subsidy improved the likelihood of having a formal job in the short run, but had no impact after four years.