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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.

The Impact of Credit Scores on Lending in Colombia

Daniel Paravisini
Researchers used a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of introducing credit scores on lending to small enterprises in Colombia. The adoption of credit scores increased productivity in the loan approval process and improved credit allocation.

Providing a Collaborative Civic Education Program to Students in France, Greece, and Spain

Sandra McNally
Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela
Daniel Santín
Researchers evaluated the impact of a civic education program involving learning-by-doing and student-centered teaching approaches in middle schools across three European countries. The program increased students’ academic performance, respect for school rules, and friendship networks with people...

Financial Education vs. Access to Finance Among Filipino Migrants

Paolo Abarcar
Rashmi Barua
International remittances are an important financial tool for many developing countries, and many organizations offer financial products or financial education services to help families manage the remittances they receive. Researchers provided families with financial products and financial education...

Performance Incentives and Grants for Health in China

Renfu Luo
Scott Rozelle
Sean Sylvia
Marcos Vera-Hernandez
In many developing countries, absenteeism, lack of accountability, and corruption among public employees prevent the effective distribution of public services. Researchers examined how performance incentives and increased resources for school principals affected the implementation of a school-based...

Changing Financial Incentives for Medicare Providers to Encourage Home Dialysis in the United States

Liran Einav
Yunan Ji
Researchers analyzed the impact of a new reimbursement model to incentivize end-stage kidney disease providers and facilities to provide home dialysis on home dialysis rates. During the first year of the study, there was no statistically significant difference in home dialysis rates between hospital...

Seed Fairs for the Diffusion of New Crop Varieties in India

Manzoor H. Dar
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test whether organizing short learning sessions for villagers about early adopters’ use of a flood-tolerant rice seed variety, Swarna-Sub1, impacted other farmers’ adoption of it. These “farmer field days” were a cost-effective strategy to improve...

The Impact of Free Tuition Program Design on College Applications and Enrollment in the United States

Elizabeth Burland
Katherine Michelmore
Stephanie Owen
Shwetha Raghuraman
Researchers investigated how two different free tuition programs for low-income students affected application and enrollment to the University of Michigan. An unconditional offer substantially increased application and enrollment while a conditional offer had a much smaller effect on applications...

The Impact of an Agricultural Training Program on Technology Use in Bangladesh

Maria Jones
Florence Kondylis
Daniel Stein
Despite recent economic growth in Bangladesh, food insecurity remains widespread. Researchers evaluated the impact of an agricultural training program for farmer groups on technology adoption in rural Bangladesh, and investigated what drives adoption and who is affected by the training, both...