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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 Effects of Subsidized Trainings on Young Workers and Small Firms: Evidence from Uganda

Livia Alfonsi
Munshi Sulaiman
Anna Vitali
Researchers evaluated the impact of offering either subsidized vocational training to unemployed youth or subsidized apprenticeships for firms on youth employment and earning outcomes in urban Uganda. Both forms of subsidized training led to greater skill accumulation, higher employment rates, and...

Building Effective, Resilient, and Trusted Police Organizations in Mexico City

Rodrigo Canales
In this multi-part study, researchers, in partnership with the Ministry of Public Security of Mexico City and the National Security Commission, are evaluating how police organizations in Mexico City can be more effective, resilient, and trusted.

The Impact of Reframing Large Debt Burdens into Smaller Goals on Reducing Debt in the United States

Jeremy Burke
Researchers have partnered with a non-profit debt management provider and IPA to evaluate whether reframing difficult, long-lasting tasks, such as paying off large debts, into more easily-attainable “sub-goals” can help borrowers accomplish their goals of debt repayment and increase client retention...

Targeted Information for The Adoption of Flood-Tolerant Rice in India

Manzoor H. Dar
Eleanor Wiseman
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the effect of providing information and experimental kits of an improved variety of flood-tolerant rice, Swarna-Sub1 or SS1, to agro-dealers on adoption rates among their customers. Overall, informing agro-dealers and providing them with seeds...

Improving Labor Courts through Competition in Mexico

Researchers are partnering with the Mexico City Labor Court to evaluate whether rotating court notifiers across areas and casefiles can reduce incidences of bribery, increase the notification rates, and improve the functioning of labor courts.

The Impact of Virtual Summer Instruction on Student Learning Loss during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

Sean Corcoran
Chloe Gibbs
Sarah Kroeger
COVID-19 school closures have led to widespread student learning loss in the United States. Researchers are evaluating the impact of individualized, virtual summer instruction on redressing these losses. This project is ongoing. Results forthcoming.

Attracting Talented Workers by Reducing Application Costs in Ethiopia

Girum Abebe
Esteban Ortiz-Ospina
Researchers partnered with an employer in Addis Ababa to assess the impact of a small monetary incentive to apply for a job or a higher wage offer on the quality of applicants to a vacancy for a clerical position. Both of these changes increased the quality of applicants by similar amounts.

The Impact of Meritocratic Promotions and Pay Progression on Health Care Workers' Productivity in Sierra Leone

Philipp Kastrau
Researchers tested the impact of a meritocratic promotion system and beliefs about pay progression on the productivity of Community Health Workers in Sierra Leone. A combination of meritocracy and the promise of a steep salary increase after promotion led workers to make more health care visits...