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.

Price Incentives to Improve Coffee Quality in Uganda

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test whether providing traders “bonuses” for high-quality coffee affects the prices traders offer farmers for their coffee and whether this, in turn, affects farmers’ incentives to invest in the quality of their production.

The Impact of Sustained Cognitive Effort on Student Performance in India

Researchers evaluated the impact of practicing sustained cognitive activity on cognitive endurance and school performance in Lucknow, India. Students that spent additional time engaging in sustained cognitive effort received higher grades in all of their classes, improved their performance on tests...

The Impact of a Quiz-Style Information Campaign on Covid-19 Prevention in the United States

Researchers are measuring the impact of a quiz-style information campaign on people’s learning and adherence to Covid-19 health protocols. This study is part of a three-country research in the United States, Ghana, and Zambia program aiming to generate evidence on the best strategies to effectively...

Providing Entrepreneurship Training and Cash Business Grants to Venezuelan Migrants in Peru

In Peru, researchers are delivering cash grants and business training to Venezuelan migrant entrepreneurs and assessing the impacts on the short- and long-term success of enterprises as well as migrants’ food security, health, and income.

School Meals, Educational Achievement and School Finance in Kenya

Christel Vermeersch
Researchers examined the effects of subsidized school meals on school participation, educational achievement, and school finance in Western Kenya. The results suggest that the meals program led to improved school participation, as well as higher curriculum test scores, but only in schools where the...

Providing Health Insurance through Microfinance Networks in Rural Karnataka, India

Richard Hornbeck
Researchers partnered with SKS Microfinance to measure the impact of bundling a health insurance product with microloan renewals on health insurance take-up, and health care use and spending. They found that the requirement to purchase health insurance substantially reduced microcredit clients’ loan...

Expanding Educational Opportunities through a Public-Private Partnership in Pakistan

David Blakeslee
Matthew Hoover
Dhushyanth Raju
Stephen Ryan
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of publicly-funded private primary schools on student enrollment in rural Pakistan. The private school program significantly increased school enrollment, but did not reduce gender disparities among students.

Advertising Higher Earnings during Recruitment Processes for Community Service Providers in Uganda

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of expected earnings on candidates’ perception of a community health worker position in Uganda, and on the resulting size and composition of the applicant pool. Fewer socially motivated participants applied when advertised wages were...