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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.

How Boston’s Summer Employment Program Affects Youth Criminal Justice Outcomes

Researchers evaluated whether Boston’s SYEP had an effect on the criminal justice outcomes of participants and sought to gauge the potential mechanisms driving these effects. The program reduced participants’ violent and property crime-related arraignments.

The Impact of Free Tuition Program Design on College Applications and Enrollment in the United States

Elizabeth Burland
Katherine Michelmore
Stephanie Owen
Shwetha Raghuraman
Researchers investigated how two different free tuition programs for low-income students affected application and enrollment to the University of Michigan. An unconditional offer substantially increased application and enrollment while a conditional offer had a much smaller effect on applications...

The Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Health Outcomes in the United States

David E. Broockman
Patrick Krause
Elizabeth Rhodes
Researchers evaluated the impact of a US$1,000 monthly unconditional cash transfer to individuals with low incomes for three years on health outcomes including nutrition, sleep, health care access and use, and physical and mental health. Those who received the large cash transfer spent more on...

Slum Housing Upgrading in El Salvador, Mexico, and Uruguay

Ryan Cooper
Sebastian Martinez
Researchers measured the impact of improving the quality of slum housing on household wellbeing in El Salvador, Mexico, and Uruguay. Residents were selected to receive housing upgrades by lottery. Results show that slum upgrading significantly improved satisfaction with quality of life. In two...

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...

Spanish-language Radio Advertisements and Latinx Voter Turnout in the 2006 Congressional Elections

Costas Panagopoulos
Researchers tested the impact of non-partisan Spanish-language radio campaigns on Latinx voter turnout in the November 2006 congressional elections. These radio advertisements significantly increased Latinx voting rates.

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...