Search our database of 1,200+ summaries of randomized evaluations conducted by our affiliates in 99 countries. To browse key policy recommendations from a subset of these evaluations, visit the Policy Publications tab above.

Displaying 177-184 of 257
A woman walks through an informal settlement in Kenya

Positive Psychology for Psychological Well-Being and Decision-Making in Kenya

Victoria Baranov
Johannes Haushofer
Chaning Jang
In Kenya, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a light-touch positive psychology intervention on psychological well-being and economic decision-making for low-income populations. The intervention had a positive impact on gratitude; however, it had no significant...
Steps to purifying water with chlorine

Messaging Strategies to Promote Safe Water and Hygiene in Bangladesh

Raymond Guiteras
Kaniz Jannat
David Levine
Stephen Luby
Thomas Polley
Leanne Unicomb
Researchers tested whether sharing messages that appealed to negative emotions, like shame or disgust, increased households’ hand washing behavior and willingness to pay for water chlorination in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Negative messaging had no impact on chlorination levels or willingness to pay, but...
Group discussion about health insurance enrollment, healthcare, and health insurance quality with a group of men from the village

Community Engagement’s Impact on Healthcare Utilization and Health Insurance Enrollment in Ghana

Stephen Kwasi Opoku Duku
Christine Fenenga
Wendy Janssens
Edward Nketiah-Amponsah
Menno Pradhan
Researchers in Ghana evaluated the impact of community-led assessments on health insurance enrollment as well as healthcare and health insurance quality. The community engagement intervention improved the medical quality of healthcare, reduced community members’ chances of getting sick, and...
A patient holds their knee, which is wrapped in a recovery bandage, after surgery.

Voluntary Regulation: Evidence from a Randomized Medicare Payment Reform

Liran Einav
Amy Finkelstein
Yunan Ji
Neale Mahoney
In the United States, researchers evaluated the impact of the mandatory-participation bundled payment model for hospitals and explored which hospitals were incentivized to opt in to bundled payments after the model was later made voluntary. The mandatory-participation bundled payment program...
Girls in school uniforms sit in class

Preventing HIV and Teen Pregnancy in Kenya: The Roles of Teacher Training and Education Subsidies

Esther Duflo
Pascaline Dupas
Michael Kremer
Researchers compared the impact of two alternative programs, one that trained teachers how to teach the existing, abstinence-focused HIV prevention curriculum and another that subsidized education through the provision of free uniforms, on risky sexual behavior of adolescent students in upper...
senior citizens wearing masks waiting for the Covid-19 vaccine

De-biasing Over-Optimism about Covid-19 Risks to Limit Vulnerable Individuals' Risky Behavior in India

Rebecca Dizon-Ross
Seema Jayachandran
Ariel Zucker
Researchers are evaluating the impact of providing different types of information about the health risks of Covid-19 on individuals’ risky behavior among diabetic and hypertensive individuals in Tamil Nadu, India, with special attention to de-biasing over-optimism about personal health risk.
Children washing their hands in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Changing Handwashing Behavior with Edutainment in Bangladesh

Reshmaan Hussam
Kailash Pandey
Abu Shonchoy
Chikako Yamauchi
Researchers conducted an evaluation to test the impact of a hand-hygiene edutainment (entertainment education) campaign on handwashing and health in Bangladesh. The campaign improved handwashing and child health but had no impact on hygiene knowledge.
student learning from books in the classroom of their school, scene in a rural or small village school in India

The Impact of Sustained Cognitive Effort on Student Performance in India

Christina Brown
Supreet Kaur
Geeta Kingdon
Heather Schofield
Researchers evaluated the impact of practicing sustained cognitive activity on cognitive endurance and school performance in Lucknow, India. Students that spent additional time engaging in sustained cognitive effort received higher grades in all of their classes, improved their performance on tests...