Blog

News

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.

Circumcision, Information, and HIV Prevention in Malawi

Researchers evaluated an information campaign in rural Malawi to examine the impact of providing information about voluntary medical male circumcision and HIV transmission risk on beliefs and sexual behavior. The program reduced risky sexual behavior among uncircumcised men, but did not increase...

Evaluating the Impact on Anemia of Making Double Fortified Salt Available in Bihar, India

Sharon Barnhardt
In Bihar, India, researchers examined how double fortified salt could be most effectively priced, marketed, and distributed in order to have the greatest impact on a range of health, education, and economic outcomes.

Countering Covid-19 Misinformation through WhatsApp in Zimbabwe

Jeremy Bowles
Shelley Liu
In this randomized evaluation in Zimbabwe, researchers studied how social media messages targeting misinformation can affect people’s beliefs about and responses toward Covid-19. The study found that these messages increased participants’ knowledge of Covid-19 information by 7 percentage points and...

Contracting for Health in Cambodia

Indu Bhushan
Erik Bloom
David Clingingsmith
Rathavuth Hong
Elizabeth King
Brad Schwartz

A Multifaceted Approach to Increase Women’s Empowerment in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Researchers evaluated a multifaceted program for women experiencing extreme poverty in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a region facing protracted conflict. The intervention had positive and enduring effects on women’s consumption, employment, finances, and empowerment, and small positive impacts...

Local Elites and Targeted Social Programs in Indonesia

Vivi Alatas
Ririn Purnamasari
Matthew Wai-Poi
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to study the impact of elite capture in a conditional cash transfer program in Indonesia. Elite capture existed in some programs, but the welfare losses created were small, suggesting that improving administrative capabilities in targeting methods might...