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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.

Providing Credit Information to Borrowers to Improve Repayment in Guatemala

Researchers ran a large randomized credit information training program that described the existence and workings of the bureau to the clients of this lender. The results indicate that the credit bureau generated large efficiency gains for the lender, and that these gains were augmented when...

Secured Transaction Reform to Increase Access to Capital for Small and Medium Enterprises in Colombia

Entrepreneurs in developing countries face a number of barriers to expanding their businesses and employing more workers, including limited access to credit and other financial services. In Colombia, researchers are investigating whether a regulatory reform that allows small and medium enterprises...

Providing Foodstuffs and Cash Loans to Improve Smallholder Farming in Zambia

Gunther Fink
In Zambia, researchers examined the impact of access to seasonal credit on farming households’ consumption, labor allocation, and agricultural output. The results suggest that access to food and cash loans during the lean season increased agricultural output and consumption, decreased off-farm labor...

Personalizing Information to Improve Retirement Savings in Chile

Olga Fuentes Contreras
Julio Riutort
F_lix Villatoro
Researchers partnered with Chile’s national pension authority to evaluate the effect of personalized versus generic information, delivered via self-service kiosks at government offices, on long-term savings. People who received personalized information increased their voluntary contributions in the...

Social Incentives and Tax Compliance in Bangladesh

Monica Singhal
Researchers studied the impact of an innovative taxpayer recognition program that appealed to business owners’ desires for social recognition on firms’ value-added tax (VAT) compliance and payment rates in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Preliminary results suggested that in areas where some firms were already...

Evaluating Post-Secondary Aid: Enrollment, Persistence, and Projected Completion Effects

Joshua Angrist
Sally Hudson
Researchers partnered with the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation to randomly offer scholarships to Nebraska high school graduates who applied for financial assistance. Initial results from the ongoing study indicate that scholarship offers increased college enrollment and persistence while shifting...