News

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 randomized the suggested contribution in a fundraising appeal sent to patrons of the Bavaria State Opera (Germany). They found that the suggestions increased the average donation while decreasing the participation rate, resulting in no significant change in the average return per mailing...

Researchers partnered with five job centers to test whether health counseling targeted at youth increased insurance coverage and health care use, leading to better health and employment outcomes. Encouraging youth to meet with a social worker and with a physician increased enrollment in the public...

Fostering youth entrepreneurship could help decrease youth unemployment. However, entrepreneurs face a number of barriers to launching and expanding their businesses. Researchers introduced a youth entrepreneurship reality TV show to evaluate the effects of a television show and entrepreneurial...

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test how encouraging traditional leaders to broaden their circle of advisors affects inclusive governance in Zimbabwe. Village chiefs improved their decision-making processes when they attended the workshop on inclusive and transparent governance and...

Researchers investigated whether a financial literacy program improved financial knowledge and practices, and increased financial service use among low-income individuals in South Africa. Offering a training improved knowledge about budgeting, increased self-reported savings, and reduced loan...

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of the ways in which information dissemination within social networks affected farmers’ adoption of a weather insurance product in rural China. Results suggest that social networks had a significantly positive effect on insurance take-up, driven by the...

Researchers evaluated the effects of different medication packaging and messaging on individuals’ adherence to malaria treatment in Uganda. They found that colorful, “high quality” packaging had no effect, while adding low-cost stickers with simple informative messaging to existing packaging...