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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.

Textbooks and Test Scores in Kenya

Sylvie Moulin
Researchers evaluated the impact of a program that provided additional textbooks to primary schools in Kenya on students, teachers, and overall learning. This study found no evidence that textbook provision increased average test scores, or that it reduced either grade repetition or dropout rates.

Savings Accounts for Village Micro-Entrepreneurs in Kenya

Researchers offered market vendors and bicycle taxi drivers in rural Kenya the opportunity to open a savings account at no cost. The formal savings accounts increased savings, productive investments, and expenditure levels among female micro-entrepreneurs, but not among males.

Community-Based Monitoring of Primary Healthcare Providers in Uganda

Researchers conducted two randomized evaluations in the health sector in Uganda to evaluate whether community monitoring could impact public health worker performance and subsequent health utilization and outcomes. They found community monitoring, when combined with information on health provider...

Savings Account Labeling and Financial Literacy Training for Susu Customers

In this evaluation, researchers seek to understand if a purely psychological savings product, which encourages customers to earmark account funds for a specific financial goal, increases savings rates. Preliminary results found that customers with a labeled Susu savings account have more total...

The Impact of Framing Information on Life Annuity Investments in the United States

Jeffrey Brown
Jeffrey Kling
Marian Wrobel
Researchers evaluated the effect of the framing of potential investment options on people's investment in life annuities. They found that individuals were more likely to prefer an annuity when their options emphasized future consumption, rather than framing options in terms of investments. These...

Information and Gender Differences in University Economics Courses and Majors in the United States

Daniel Halim
Elizabeth T. Powers
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing information to students on their decision to pursue courses and majors in economics at a public university in the United States. The intervention increased male students' likelihood of studying additional economics courses...

Balancing Health Benefits and Risks of ACT Subsidies in Kenya

Researchers distributed vouchers for antimalarial drugs and malaria rapid diagnostic tests, redeemable at four local drug shops in Western Kenya. Taking some subsidy money away from antimalarial drugs and putting it towards subsidizing and promoting rapid diagnostic testing could improve targeting.

Community Based Strategies to Reduce Maternal Mortality in Northern Nigeria

Jessica Leight
Vandana Sharma
In northern Nigeria, researchers evaluated the impact of three community-based interventions designed to enhance uptake of maternal and child health services: a community health worker program, health educators with the provision of safe birth kits, and health educators with community dramas. While...