Blog

News

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 Working While in School in Uruguay

Researchers partnered with the government of Uruguay to evaluate the impact of a national youth employment program. The program increased participants’ earnings and school enrollment during and up to two years after the program, suggesting that work-study programs may ease students’ school-to-work...

The Effect of Behavioral Nudges via Mailed Letters on Subsidized Health Insurance Take-up in the United States

This study examined the impact of an administrative simplification and a series of behavioral nudges (all via letters sent by mail) on enrollment in subsidized health insurance plans. The administrative simplification, which provided a streamlined path to enrollment, had the largest effect on...

The Impact of Different Messaging Strategies on Tax Compliance in Belgium

Maarten Luts
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve
Teodora Tsankova
Researchers partnered with the tax authority in Belgium to understand what types of messages drive people to comply with their taxes. Results show that simplified messages, as well as messages that highlighted the consequences of non-compliance, induced people to file and pay their taxes sooner. On...

Changing Politicians' Responsiveness through the Provision of Voter Information in Pakistan

Asad Liaqat
Uninformed elected leaders or voters can negatively affect political accountability, such as decision-making on what and how public services are delivered to citizens. The researcher partnered with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party in Lahore to evaluate the demand and responsiveness of local...

The Impact of Mobile-Linked Savings Accounts in Sri Lanka

Researchers evaluated the impact of bank accounts that allowed mobile deposits on savings behavior in Sri Lanka. Few account holders used the service frequently, even when offered for free. Mobile-linked accounts increased savings deposits with the partner bank and formal banks more generally but...

The Role of Information and Preferences in School Choices in Romania

Robert Ainsworth
Rajeev Dehejia
Miguel Urquiola
In this randomized evaluation in Romania, researchers compared the roles of preferences and information in households’ decision-making, with regard to high school selection. Results suggest that households provided with information on school quality tend to choose schools that have a greater...

The Impact of Early Childhood Psychosocial Stimulation on Child Development Outcomes in Odisha, India

Researchers evaluated the impact of an early childhood psychosocial stimulation program on child development outcomes in urban Odisha, India. They found that a home-visiting stimulation program led to greater development outcomes, particularly for boys, stunted children, and children with more...

Information Campaigns to Increase Mobile Banking Adoption in Ghana

In Ghana, researchers worked with a bank that provides services to low-income customers with limited access to mainstream banking to evaluate the impact of sending pre-recorded informational voice calls and text messages on the adoption of mobile banking. Clients that received messages encouraging...