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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.

The Impact of Feedback on University Student Performance in Spain

Ghazala Azmat
Antonio Cabrales
Nagore Iriberri
University students are increasingly demanding more feedback on their performance relative to their peers, yet little is known on the impact of this feedback on student performance. Researchers shared information on students’ relative academic standing among university students in Spain to evaluate...

The Impact of Lottery Ticket Incentives on Saving in Mexico

Aisling Scott
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to determine whether PLS programs encouraged opening and use of bank accounts in Mexico. The lottery incentive increased the number of bank accounts opened, and accounts opened because of the PLS program were just as likely to be used as accounts opened...

Teaching Students Perspective-taking to Mitigate Social Exclusion of Refugee Children in Turkey

Researchers partnered with the Ministry of Education in Turkey to conduct a randomized evaluation of Understanding Each Other, a program which aims to foster social cohesion through perspective-taking activities that encourage students to consider others’ perspectives. They found that the program...

The Impact of Existing Account Usage on the Likelihood of Switching Accounts in Malawi

Xavier Giné
Researchers partnered with a local bank to learn how customers chose between two account types—an account that had been offered for many years, which carried high monthly fees but no individual transaction costs, or a new type of account that charged for each withdrawal but did not impose monthly...

Applying Behavioral Insights to Improve Tax Enforcement in Poland

Nina Mazar
Roberto Claudio Sormani
In partnership with the Polish Tax Office, researchers conducted a nation-wide randomized evaluation to test the impact of sending tax enforcement letters with behavioral messages on tax compliance among delinquent taxpayers. The results indicate that behavioral letters significantly improved tax...