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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.

Testing the Effectiveness of Payments for Ecosystem Services to Enhance Conservation in Uganda

In Uganda, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the effectiveness of a program in which landowners were paid to not cut forest trees on their property. During the study period, landowners who were offered contracts to conserve forest cleared 4 percent of forested land, compared to 9...

The Impact of Emergency Rental Assistance on Housing Stability during Covid-19 in the United States

Researchers leveraged existing randomization to evaluate the impact of ERA programs during the pandemic in four urban areas in the United States on measures of housing stability, financial security, and mental health. Receipt of rental assistance increased rent payment in the short term and modestly...

Teaching Girls Negotiation Skills in Zambia

In Sub-Saharan Africa, young girls drop out of school at higher rates than boys. A large portion of drop outs occur between primary and secondary school, when families in most countries have to start paying fees for their children to continue attending school. In Zambia, researchers designed and...

The Role of Conditional Cash Transfers in Mitigating Income Shocks in Mexico

In rural Mexico, researchers examined whether conditional cash transfers (CCTs) protect families against income shocks and promote investment in children's education.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Alternative Text Messages to Improve Collection of Delinquent Fines in the United Kingdom

Rory Gallagher
Laura Haynes
Peter John
David Torgerson
The collection of delinquent fines is a massive public administrative challenge. In the United Kingdom for instance, unpaid court fines amounted to more than £600 million in 2011. Managing noncompliant accounts and dispatching bailiffs to collect fines in person is costly. Researchers used a...

The Use of Nonbinding Contribution Suggestions for a Charitable Fundraising Scheme in Germany

Maja Adena
Steffen Huck
Researchers randomized the suggested contribution in a fundraising appeal sent to patrons of the Bavaria State Opera (Germany). They found that the suggestions increased the average donation while decreasing the participation rate, resulting in no significant change in the average return per mailing...

Free Medical Consultations for Young Job Seekers in France

Julie Pernaudet
Researchers partnered with five job centers to test whether health counseling targeted at youth increased insurance coverage and health care use, leading to better health and employment outcomes. Encouraging youth to meet with a social worker and with a physician increased enrollment in the public...

Providing Agricultural Inputs in the Democratic Republic of Congo

In partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the World Bank, researchers are investigating how subsidizing the cost of and access to improved seeds affects smallholder farmers’ take-up of improved seeds, their short-term agricultural productivity, and...