Evaluations

Working with a large bank in Indonesia that markets platinum credit cards to high-income customers, researchers designed a series of randomized evaluations to understand the demand for status goods. Overall, researchers found that a substantial part of the demand for the platinum card is explained...

Researchers partnered with the Honduran government to evaluate the impact of replacing textbooks with laptops on student learning. Using laptops resulted in no change in learning outcomes, suggesting that laptops could be a cost-effective substitute to textbooks if they can replace enough textbooks.

Researchers partnered with Tamweelcom, a microcredit institution in Jordan, to estimate the demand for loans that comply with Islamic law (sharia-compliant loans). Sharia-compliant loans increased the demand for microcredit, and religious individuals were willing to pay more for this product.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a savings lockbox, or SMS reminders, on household saving, spending, and the ability to cope with negative shocks in rural Niger. Take-up and usage of the lockbox were high, and while the lockbox intervention did not affect overall...

The collection of delinquent fines is a massive public administrative challenge. In the United Kingdom for instance, unpaid court fines amounted to more than £600 million in 2011. Managing noncompliant accounts and dispatching bailiffs to collect fines in person is costly. Researchers used a...

Researchers conducted a two-year randomized evaluation of incentive schemes for tax officials in Punjab, Pakistan that found performance pay significantly increased tax revenues without harming taxpayer satisfaction.

Researchers are evaluating the demand for a commitment savings product among garment workers and evaluating whether employer influence and expected feedback to employers impacts sign-up decisions.

Researchers evaluated whether an alternative teacher incentive scheme, providing rewards based on the performance of all students, could help reduce dropout and improve student math learning. Introducing the pay-for-percentile incentive scheme reduced overall student dropout rates. However, these...