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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.

Promoting Handwashing Behavior in Peru: The Effects of Large-Scale Community and School-Level Interventions

Researchers evaluated the impact of a large-scale handwashing intervention in Peru that introduced an innovative mix of mass media campaigns along with more intensive community activities, including educational sessions for caregivers and a handwashing curriculum in some schools. The program was...

Combating Misinformation using Fact-Checking via WhatsApp in South Africa

Jeremy Bowles
Kevin Croke
Shelley Liu
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to assess how fact-checks regularly sent to participants through WhatsApp can affect their ability to discern false information, as well as their beliefs and attitudes related to topics subject to viral misinformation, particularly Covid-19. Overall, the...

Discrimination in Hiring and Anonymous CVs in France (CV Anonymes)

In collaboration with the French employment agency Pôle Emploi, researchers evaluated whether interview and hiring rates of minority candidates changed when employers collect anonymous resumes. Making resumes anonymous did not affect the average number of interviews and job offers volunteer firms...

The Impact of Informational Meetings on Secondary School Choice in Kenya

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of short informational meetings with students and parents on secondary school choice. They found that these meetings increased students’ and parents’ knowledge of the application process and led students to pick lower-cost and more...

Online Sexual Education Modules for Schools in Urban Colombia

In Colombia, researchers evaluated the impact of an online sexual health course implemented in public middle schools on adolescents’ sexual health knowledge, behavior, and attitudes towards sexual health. The study showed that the online course led to improved sexual health knowledge and attitudes...

Network Effects between Small & Medium Enterprises in Uganda

Francisco Campos
Markus Goldstein
Obert Pimhidzai
Mattea Stein
Bilal Zia
Many governments and organizations use finance and management training as a tool to promote small and medium enterprise growth in developing countries, but it is not clear whether or how information from these trainings is shared across SMEs operating in the same area.

Incentivizing Safe Sex in Rural Tanzania

Ramadhani Abdul
Faraji Abilahi
Matthieu Alexandre
William Dow
Erick Gong
Zachary Isdahl
Boniphace Jullu
Suneeta Krishnan
Albert Majura
Carol A. Medlin
Jeanne Moncada
Sally Mtenga
Mathew Alexander Mwanyangala
Rose Nathan
Laura Packel
Julius Schachter
Kizito Shirima
Damien de Walque
In Tanzania, researchers examined whether making cash payments conditional on testing negative for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can improve safe sex practices among young adults. They found that offering cash incentives of US$20 significantly reduced STI rates after one year, although...