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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.

The Impact of Mask Distribution and Promotion on Mask Uptake and Covid-19 in Bangladesh

Jason Abaluck
Jade Benjamin-Chung
Neeti Zaman Bintee
Emily Crawford
Muhammad Maqsud Hossain
Ellen Bates Jefferys
Alamgir Kabir
Laura H. Kwong
Stephen Luby
Shadman Rahman
Shabib Raihan
Hasan Mahmud Reza
Ashley Styczynski
Peter J. Winch
Researchers partnered with Innovations for Poverty Action and Bangladeshi policymakers to test various strategies to increase mask-wearing and assess the impact of community mask wearing on SARS-CoV-2 infection rates. They found that a four-part intervention tripled mask usage and increased physical...

Social Integration Effects of Pre-Migration Information Sessions in the Philippines

Toman Barsbai
Victoria S. Licuanan
Andreas Steinmayr
Erwin Tiongson
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to investigate whether an expanded and more thorough version of an orientation program in the Philippines improved socioeconomic outcomes and facilitated settlement for migrants upon moving to the United States. The research team found that though the...

Incentivizing Physical Activity to Improve Mental Health During Covid-19 Disruptions in the United States

Osea Giuntella
Kelly Hyde
Silvia Saccardo
Sally Sadoff
Researchers conducted a randomized intervention to measure the impact of financial incentives for reaching daily step goals on physical activity and depression risk during the Covid-19 pandemic, to better understand the association between physical activity and mental health. While program...

The Impact of Informational Meetings on Secondary School Choice in Kenya

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of short informational meetings with students and parents on secondary school choice. They found that these meetings increased students’ and parents’ knowledge of the application process and led students to pick lower-cost and more...

School's Out: How Summer Youth Employment Programs Impact Academic Outcomes (in Boston)

Researchers evaluated the impact of Boston’s Summer Youth Employment Program, which uses a lottery to provide youth with part-time work and skills training during the summer, on students’ educational outcomes. The program significantly increased high school graduation rates among participating...

Changing Financial Incentives for Medicare Providers to Encourage Home Dialysis in the United States

Liran Einav
Yunan Ji
Researchers analyzed the impact of a new reimbursement model to incentivize end-stage kidney disease providers and facilities to provide home dialysis on home dialysis rates. During the first year of the study, there was no statistically significant difference in home dialysis rates between hospital...

The Impact of Free Tuition Program Design on College Applications and Enrollment in the United States

Elizabeth Burland
Katherine Michelmore
Stephanie Owen
Shwetha Raghuraman
Researchers investigated how two different free tuition programs for low-income students affected application and enrollment to the University of Michigan. An unconditional offer substantially increased application and enrollment while a conditional offer had a much smaller effect on applications...

Group Versus Individual Liability in the Philippines

Xavier Giné
In this study, researchers randomly selected existing group-lending centers to convert to an individual liability model. They found no difference in repayment rates between individuals assigned individual liability and those assigned group liability, no change in overall profitability for the bank...