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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 Role Models and Technical Assistance on Microfirms in Chile

In partnership with Simón de Cirene, a Chilean non-profit organization, researchers evaluated the impact of providing role models and personalized assistance through various delivery methods on the business outcomes of micro-entrepreneurs. One year after the program ended, household income increased...

The Effectiveness of Encouraging Voter Participation by Inducing Feelings of Pride or Shame

Tiffany C. Davenport
Christopher Larimer
Christopher B. Mann
Costas Panagopoulos
Researchers evaluated whether disclosure of past voting participation had a stronger impact on turnout when it reminded voters of instances in which they previously voted or of instances in which they failed to vote. The results suggest that mailings disclosing past voting behavior had strong...

Incentives, Selection and Productivity in Labor Markets in Malawi

Researchers evaluated the effect of randomly offering varied wages to bean-sorting workers in rural Malawi. While offering higher wages caused workers to increase their productivity, it did not attract more productive workers.

Opower: Evaluating the Impact of Home Energy Reports on Energy Conservation in the United States

Researchers studied the short- and long-run effects of these reports on electricity use and found that reports reduced energy consumption by about 2 percent across twelve utilities. The reports had the strongest effect in the short-run, but the program had enduring effects among households that were...

Boosting Academic Performance through Individualized Tutoring in Chicago Public High Schools

Roseanna Ander
Philip J. Cook
Kenneth Dodge
George Farkas
Harold Pollack
Laurence Steinberg
In Chicago, researchers evaluated an intensive two-on-one math tutoring program for 9th and 10th grade male students in public schools to assess the effectiveness of individualized instruction. Students who were randomly assigned to tutoring scored higher on math exams, earned better grades in math...

Impacts and Challenges of a Teacher Training Program in Nepal

Julie Schaffner
Uttam Sharma
Training teachers to improve teacher quality and student learning is a common strategy taken by policymakers. In Nepal, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of a government teacher training program for math and science teachers to evaluate the impact on student learning in secondary schools...

The Effects of Student Coaching in the United States

Rachel Baker
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the effectiveness of providing individualized coaching to university students on their persistence in university courses. Students who were assigned to a coach were more likely to persist in university.