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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.

Returns to Consulting in the Philippines

Greg Fischer
Researchers in the Philippines are examining the various constraints hindering SME growth and evaluating whether graduate business students can effectively teach management skills and improve small business performance.

Combating Misinformation using Fact-Checking via WhatsApp in South Africa

Jeremy Bowles
Kevin Croke
John Marshall
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to assess how fact-checks regularly sent to participants through WhatsApp can affect their ability to discern false information, as well as their beliefs and attitudes related to topics subject to viral misinformation, particularly Covid-19. Overall, the...

The Impact of Fee-for-Service Schemes on Health Service Utilization in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Juliette Seban
Researchers tested a fee-for-service scheme, a type of performance pay, at health facilities in the Democratic Republic of Congo to evaluate its impact on health service utilization. While fee-for-service facilities invested more effort in attracting patients, this increase did not translate into...

Measuring Competition Through Subsidies in Sierra Leone's Cocoa Market

Tristan Reed
In order to measure the level of competition among traders in Sierra Leone’s cocoa market, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of delivering subsidies to cocoa traders on prices that traders paid to cocoa farmers. While the bonus payments did not affect the prices paid...

Matching Donations to Increase Charitable Giving in the United States

Altruistic individuals may hesitate to give when they doubt the quality of a charity, but knowing that a high-profile donor supports the charity might alleviate these concerns. Researchers evaluated the impact of publicizing a matching grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) on...

Building Preschools to Improve Child Development and Mothers' Agency in Morocco

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to measure a major preschool construction program underway in Morocco.

Providing Information on the EITC to Increase Amounts Received in the United States

Researchers sought to determine whether providing information on the EITC could increase the amount individuals received by randomizing the information professional tax preparers supplied. They found that providing more information did not increase EITC transfers or annual earnings overall.

The Effect of Monetary Transfers on Disadvantaged Youth Employment in France

Romain Aeberhardt
Vera Chiodi
Mathilde Gaini
Léopold Gilles
Nelly Guisse
Augustin Vicard
Researchers evaluated whether a conditional cash transfer targeted to youth aged 18 to 23 could encourage participation in a job placement program and ultimately help them secure longer-term, higher-paying positions. The cash transfer increased participation in the job placement program but did not...