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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.

Demand for Rainwater Harvesting Devices in Uganda

In Uganda, researchers studied the demand for rainwater storage devices, the effectiveness of various marketing strategies in promoting them, and their impact on indicators such as school attendance and women’s participation in the labor market.

Information and Referrals at the End of Middle School, France

Dominique Goux
Researchers evaluated the effects of a program designed to improve parental knowledge about students’ opportunities at the end of middle school on schooling decisions and dropout behavior. The program helped parents and their children make more realistic educational choices, reducing grade...

Messaging Strategies to Promote Safe Water and Hygiene in Bangladesh

Kaniz Jannat
David Levine
Stephen Luby
Thomas Polley
Leanne Unicomb
Researchers tested whether sharing messages that appealed to negative emotions, like shame or disgust, increased households’ hand washing behavior and willingness to pay for water chlorination in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Negative messaging had no impact on chlorination levels or willingness to pay, but...

Reducing Teen Smoking and Drinking through Increased Schooling in the Dominican Republic

Smoking and drinking are two of the most important risk factors explaining early mortality, accounting for an estimated 14 percent of deaths among youth worldwide. In the Dominican Republic, researchers examined the effect of increased schooling and decreased work on smoking and drinking behavior...

Video-Mediated Agricultural Extension to Increase Technology Adoption Among Farmers in Ethiopia

Gashaw Abate
Tanguy Bernard
Simrin Makhija
David J. Spielman
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a video-mediated extension approach on the uptake of technologies recommended by the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture. The video-mediated instruction increased uptake through improved access to extension and farmer knowledge but...

Involving Parents in their Children's Education in Chile

Can a multi-dimensional program enhance parental involvement and student outcomes? Programa Aprender en Familia (Family Learning or PAF), a program implemented in elementary public schools attended by poor students in Chile, led to improved parental involvement and improved relationships between...

The Effect of Discussion Group Composition on Policy Preferences in the United States

Cynthia Farrar
Jennifer E. Green
David W. Nickerson
Steven Shewfelt
In a series of three evaluations throughout the United States, researchers evaluated the effect of group composition on individual participants’ political views. They found little evidence that the ideological and demographic complexion of the group influenced post-discussion opinions.

Spanish-language Radio Advertisements and Latinx Voter Turnout in the 2006 Congressional Elections

Costas Panagopoulos
Researchers tested the impact of non-partisan Spanish-language radio campaigns on Latinx voter turnout in the November 2006 congressional elections. These radio advertisements significantly increased Latinx voting rates.