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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.

Temporary Labor Migration as Mitigation: Strategies for Managing Seasonal Famine in Bangladesh

Can monetary incentives induce rural farmers to migrate to cities and pursue seasonal labor opportunities during times of famine?

Information Campaign to Reduce Plastic Bag Consumption in Supermarkets in Mexico

Alberto Chong
Jeremy Shapiro
This evaluation measured the impact of different in-store information campaigns on the consumption of plastic shopping bags and the sale of reusable bags in grocery stores across Mexico. The information campaigns did not significantly reduce plastic bag consumption or increase the sale of the...

The Impact of Emergency Cash Assistance in a Pandemic

Pablo Querubin
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in Colombia to assess the effects of emergency cash assistance on the well-being of households. Recipients of the UCT experienced improved financial health, food access, and psychological well-being. Colombia’s newly implemented mobile money system...

Communal Sanitation Solutions for Urban Slums in Orissa, India

Sharon Barnhardt
Judy Chevalier
Researchers are evaluating the effect of improving communal toilet facilities, and implementing innovative systems for facility maintenance, on the use of community toilets in Orissa, India.

Decreasing Mobile Money Vendor Misconduct through Information Sharing in Ghana

In Ghana, researchers evaluated the impact of providing vendors and consumers with information on official mobile money charges and options for recourse for consumers to report being overcharged. The program led to a decrease in misconduct, which in turn facilitated an increase in market activity...

Enhancing Local Public Service Delivery through Financial Reform of India's Employment Guarantee

Social programs in developing countries are often plagued by corruption, especially within the flow of funds from the central government to beneficiaries. For the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in India, the central government disburses funds to local governments...