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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.

Reducing Farmers' Risk through Flood-Tolerant Rice in India

Researchers partnered with CGIAR’s International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to evaluate the impact of a flood-resistant rice variety on fertilizer use and crop yield in India. During floods, the flood tolerant seeds had a clear advantage over the traditional seeds. In non-flooded areas, there...

Edutainment Campaigns to Address Social Norms and Perceptions about Child Marriage in Indonesia

Milda Irhamni
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of an entertainment-education short film informational campaign (i.e. edutainment campaign) designed to inform adolescent girls and parents of the costs of child marriage on the norms and perceptions about child marriage in Indonesia...

Competitive School Grants to Improve Student Learning in Senegal

Oswald Koussihouede
Nathalie Lahire
Corina Mommaerts
Researchers partnered with the Senegalese government to evaluate the impact of a decentralized school grants program on student learning. The program improved test scores overall and for girls in younger grades. The impact was stronger in schools that invested more in human resource training rather...

The Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Health Outcomes in Chelsea, Massachusetts

Sumit Agarwal
Benjamin Le Cook
The City of Chelsea implemented a cash transfer program called Chelsea Eats, which provided eligible households with up to US$400 per month for nine months. Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation on the impact of the unconditional cash transfer on health care utilization and a variety of...

Leveraging the Parents and Children Together (PACT) Program for Increased Parental Engagement in the United States

Sebastian Gallegos
Ariel Kalil
Susan Mayer
Researchers evaluated the impact of providing small behavioral tools, including a goal-setting website, text message reminders, and social rewards, to parents to encourage their participation in the Parents And Children Together (PACT) program. These behavioral tools more than doubled parents’...

Leveraging Technology to Incentivize Student Effort in India

Sarojini Hirshleifer
Using a technology-based math curriculum, researchers evaluated the impact of different incentive types—rewarding continuous effort in the classroom versus rewarding test performance—on student learning. Results indicate that effort-based incentives can be a more effective and cost-effective way of...