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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.

J-PAL Behavioral Science and Crime Funding Opportunity

We're supporting randomized evaluations of projects that employ a strategy related to behavioral science and aim to reduce crime and violence. Learn more and submit a letter of interest here.

Improving Yields and Health through a High-Yielding Rice Variety (NERICA) in Sierra Leone

Improved crop varieties have the potential to produce higher yields than traditional varieties, but rural farmers often do not have the knowledge to properly grow these crops. Researchers seek to understand how providing different amounts of training on how to cultivate NERICA-3, a high-yield but...

The Impact of Physical Appearance on Employer Interest in Argentina

Florencia Lopez Boo
Sergio Urzua
In many countries around the world, there is growing concern that certain groups of people may face job market discrimination based on physical appearance. To test this theory, researchers randomly submitted resumes with photos of people with varying levels of attractiveness to measure the effect on...

Evaluating the Socioeconomic Impacts of Western Seed's Hybrid Maize Program in Kenya

Samuel Bird
Travis Lybbert
Mary Mathenge
Timothy Njagi
Emilia Tjernstrom
Researchers are using Western Seed Company's expansion into new areas to evaluate the socio-economic effects of the hybrid maize program in Western and Central Kenya.

Motivating Citizens to Seek Political Office in Pakistan

Saad Gulzar
Researchers examined the impact of different types of motivation on the number and quality of candidates running for village councils in Pakistan, electoral outcomes, and elected candidates’ policy alignment with citizens’ interests. They found that portraying politics as socially beneficial–rather...

Education Mismatch and Motivational Messages

Giacomo De Giorgi
Sebastián Otero
Researchers are evaluating the impact of providing information on national rank and scholarships can reduce dropout among high-performing students.