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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.

Examining the Effect of Information About Financial Aid for Higher Education on Schooling Outcomes in Chile

Claudia Martinez
Researchers tested the effects of providing low-income students in urban Chile with information about financial aid for higher education on their educational attainment and their likelihood of progressing to higher education. A video informing students about financing higher education increased...

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

Elise Huillery
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...

The Effect of Bureaucrat Performance Scorecards on Service Delivery and Bribes in Bangladesh

Researchers evaluated the impact of performance scorecards on the speed of delivery and the payment of bribes. Results show that the intervention increased on-time service delivery, but did not decrease bribe payments on average; bribes among high-performers increased.

How can Bill and Melinda Gates Increase Other People's Donations?

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...

Weekday vs. Weekend Text-Based Parenting Support in the United States

Hans Fricke
David Song
Ben York
In Texas, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of text message-based parenting support delivered at different times of the week on young children’s literacy and numeracy development. They found that text messages delivered on weekends were best for supporting children...