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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.

Social Incentives and Tax Compliance in Bangladesh

Monica Singhal
Researchers studied the impact of an innovative taxpayer recognition program that appealed to business owners’ desires for social recognition on firms’ value-added tax (VAT) compliance and payment rates in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Preliminary results suggested that in areas where some firms were already...

Evaluating Post-Secondary Aid: Enrollment, Persistence, and Projected Completion Effects

Joshua Angrist
Sally Hudson
Researchers partnered with the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation to randomly offer scholarships to Nebraska high school graduates who applied for financial assistance. Initial results from the ongoing study indicate that scholarship offers increased college enrollment and persistence while shifting...

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...

Identity in Charitable Giving in the United States

Katherine Milkman
A large charitable organization in the United States conducted a series of direct mail appeals for donations using different identity primes in 2009-2010. Researchers found that priming a potential donor’s identity as either a previous donor to charity or as a member of their local community...

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...

Reducing Inappropriate Prescribing of Controlled Substances in the United States

Shantanu Agrawal
David Yokum
Researchers tested whether an informative letter campaign could reduce inappropriate prescribing of controlled substances in Medicare Part D. Letters had no detectable effect on prescribing. In ongoing work, researchers are testing alternative versions of letters.

The Impact of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration and Formalized Land Rights on Reforestation and Crop Yields in Niger

Jules Bayala
Ariel BenYishay
Ibrahim Ouattara
Jessica Wells
Leigh Anne Winowiecki
Researchers are evaluating the impact of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration and formalized land rights on reforestation and crop yields.