Manufacturing jobs can improve women’s economic empowerment, but health issues or caretaking often drive women out of the labor force. In partnership with a large garment Banladeshi manufactory firm, researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of text messages about paid sick leave on workers' health and job satisfaction.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of reducing the psychological costs of job applications, such as the tendency to postpone applications because completing a task today seems more burdensome than tomorrow, on job application rates and interviews in Lahore, Pakistan. The intervention, which involved follow-up calls inviting job seekers to apply for jobs, increased the number of job applications and interviews. The benefits of applying to jobs were similar after the increase in applications, suggesting that psychological costs play an important role in job search behavior.

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.

Researchers are conducting phone surveys to understand the effects of a community policing intervention on citizens' trust in the state and how that affects their willingness to comply with COVID-19 related measures in Uganda.

Researchers are evaluating the effectiveness of an interactive WhatsApp-based couples communication, financial education, and COVID-19 information program in promoting low-income households' financial resiliency and reducing IPV rates in Colombia. Research is ongoing; results forthcoming.

In partnership with the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations of Peru, researchers are evaluating a text-based campaign designed to help men regulate their emotions and reduce perpetration of IPV during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of access to credit and business training on entrepreneurs’ business outcomes and households’ resilience to cope with the consequences of COVID-19. Research is ongoing; results are forthcoming.

Responsive governments have the ability to make laws and decisions that reflect their constituents’ preferences. However, legislators may lack necessary information about constituents’ opinions and may therefore be unable to meet their demands. Researchers measured whether providing targeted information about citizens’ and firms’ preferences to members of the Vietnamese National Assembly (VNA) increased legislators’ responsiveness. VNA delegates who received information about their citizens’ preferences were more prepared and likely to speak in debates ; however, delegates did not appear to be responsive to information about local firms’ preferences. In addition, delegates grew more responsive as other delegates received the same information.

Researchers conducted two randomized evaluations in Bangladesh to study the impact of a new irrigation method and different pricing schemes on water use and conservation. The new irrigation method reduced water consumption and costs for farmers who were already paying for water by the hour, or by volume.

In partnership with country governments and the World Bank, the research team has been evaluating how different productive packages impact the wellbeing and economic stability of safety net beneficiaries in Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal. In Niger, a multi-faceted economic inclusion program delivered to women beneficiaries of a national cash transfer program improved women’s consumption and food security, increased their off-farm business activities, and improved their psychosocial well-being.

To better understand the connection between BTB policies and racial discrimination in hiring, researchers tested the impact of applicant race and criminal history on hiring decisions both before and after BTB policies came into effect in New Jersey and New York City. The results confirmed that criminal records are a barrier to employment and supported the concern that BTB policies encourage racial discrimination.

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 without these incentives up to five years later.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of peer referrals by current patients on the screening and identification of tuberculosis cases in India. Peer referrals and outreach by current patients to identified peers were more effective than health-worker led contact-tracing, while combining these interventions with financial rewards was a cost-effective strategy to improve tuberculosis screening and detection.

In partnership with the City of Medellín, researchers randomly introduced a program that intensified government outreach to gang-controlled neighborhoods. The study found no evidence that the city’s intervention reduced gang rule.