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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 Effect of Prepaid Postage on Voter Turnout in the United States

Andrew Healy
Neil Malhotra
Melissa Michelson
Allison Carnegie Sovey
Ali Adam Valenzuela
Researchers randomly provided postage-paid envelopes to a subset of permanent absentee voters in San Mateo County, California in order to evaluate its impact on voter turnout. The provision of prepaid postage resulted in no net change in voter turnout because it simultaneously decreased the number...

Powering Small Retailers: The Adoption of Solar Energy under Different Pricing Schemes in Kenya

Kenya, East Africa's largest economy, is struggling with an ageing energy infrastructure and low connectivity to the power grid. William Jack and affiliate Tavneet Suri (MIT) study the impact of off-grid solar power on small retailers in Nairobi.

Improving the Effectiveness of Vouchers for Free Family Planning after Childbirth in Kenya

Allison Ettenger
Faith Muigai
Claire Watt Rothschild
In partnership with Jacaranda Health, researchers evaluated a family planning program that provided pregnant women with varying combinations of vouchers for free modern contraception and reminders of the importance of family planning. While none of the combinations increased self-reported use of...

J-PAL Africa Project Incubation Fund – 2017 Round

J-PAL Africa, located in SALDRU in the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town, has a pool of funds to support researchers to carry out exploratory research work on policy relevant questions related to South Africa. This work should lead to the development of a full research proposal for...

Using a Technology-Based Solution to Reduce Public Health Worker Absenteeism in Pakistan

Saad Gulzar
Ali Hasanain
In developing countries, public worker absence is a key obstacle to delivering services to the poor. This problem may occur when politicians reward their supporters with public sector jobs, making it difficult for communities to hold public servants accountable. Researchers evaluated the...

More School Resources, Better Teacher Incentives, or Both to Improve Student Learning in Tanzania

Researchers evaluated the impact of providing schools with an unconditional cash grant, a teacher incentive program, or both on student learning. The cash grant had no impact on student learning, while the teacher incentive program had mixed results. However, combining both programs together had an...

Prepaid Electricity Meters to Decrease Electricity Use and Recover Utility Revenue in South Africa

Grant Smith
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in Cape Town, South Africa to measure the effect of prepaid meters on households’ electricity use and utility revenue. They found that prepaid meters led households to reduce their electricity consumption, but helped the utility company recover more...

Nudging Good Politicians in the Philippines

Nico Ravanilla
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of an all-expense-paid three-day leadership training workshop on incentivizing honest and competent youth to run for a village youth council.