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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.

Mobile Money and Agricultural Investment in Mozambique

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of offering interest-paying mobile money saving accounts to farmers, and in some cases farmers’ friends, on their financial behavior such as agricultural investment. Providing farmers access to interest-bearing mobile savings accounts...

Phone-Based Tutoring to Support Learning during School Closures: Evidence from Five Countries

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of delivering educational content via mobile phones on student learning in five countries. Mobile-based instruction, especially through phone call tutorials, improved foundational learning...

The Impact of Incentives and Marketing on Commercial Toilet Use in Nairobi, Kenya

Johann Caro Burnett
Judy Chevalier
Applying lessons from psychology and neuroscience, researchers evaluated whether a combination of economic incentives, repetition-inducing constraints, and a marketing campaign could increase the usage of hygienic, commercial latrines among residents of an informal settlement in Nairobi. There was...

Real-Time Pricing to Reduce Electricity Use in the United States

During periods of high electricity use that strain the grid, electricity customers do not have any reason to conserve because they pay a fixed price per kilowatt hour of power. In this study, the researcher evaluated the impact on electricity usage of a real-time pricing scheme, which charges...

The Value of Regulatory Discretion: Estimates from Environmental Inspections in India

Researchers are evaluating the impact of making environmental inspections of high-polluting industrial plants more frequent and removing regulator discretion in selecting plants for inspection on regulatory compliance and pollution emissions in Gujarat, India.

Improving Economic and Psychological Well-being through Unconditional Cash Transfer in Kenya

Charlotte Ringdal
Jeremy Shapiro
Xiao Yu Wang
In Rarieda, Kenya, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of GiveDirectly’s UCT program on poor rural households’ economic and psychological well-being. Results demonstrated that the program had significant welfare-improving impacts, both economically and psychologically...

Structured Teaching and Targeted Remediation to Improve Reading Skills in Ghana

Erik Andersen
Simon Graffy
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a structured teaching and targeted remediation program that combined semi-scripted lesson plans, student workbooks, a smartphone coaching and tracking app, and teacher training in evidence-based instruction on first-grade reading...

The Effects of Youth Employment: Evidence from New York City Summer Youth Employment Program Lotteries

Alexander Gelber
Adam Isen
Numerous summer jobs programs in the United States seek to support the employment of young people facing barriers to employment and opportunity. Researchers studied the impact of the New York City Summer Youth Employment Program (which used a lottery to determine participation) on youth earnings...