Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to study if Democratic climate advocates recruit others for climate advocacy and whether they reach out across party lines to increase bi-partisan support. While Democrats were motivated to mobilize others to email Congress on climate action, they were more likely to do so when they believed their efforts would influence like-minded, Democratic-leaning individuals.

Researchers evaluated a computer-based adaptive learning platform (Mindspark) for secondary school students in urban India to measure the impact of customized learning technology on student test scores. The program increased test scores across all groups of students and was cost-effective compared to traditional schooling models.

Researchers evaluated how different ways of asking questions in surveys affect workers’ likelihood of reporting harassment at a firm in Bangladesh. A survey technique that gave people plausible deniability led to workers reporting more abuses, allowing the firm to access more accurate data on the extent of harassment at its workplace.

Researchers evaluated the impact of auto-scheduling appointments with targeted messages and nudge reminders on primary care engagement within four months after delivery for postpartum individuals with diabetes, hypertension, mental illness, or obesity in the United States. Individuals who received this intervention were substantially more likely to have a primary care visit than those who did not, highlighting the potential of low-cost interventions to improve the transition of ongoing care needs after pregnancy to primary care clinicians.

Researchers conducted a two-year randomized evaluation of incentive schemes for tax officials in Punjab, Pakistan that found performance pay significantly increased tax revenues without harming taxpayer satisfaction.

Many governments have devolved some political and economic authority to local entities, hoping to achieve more accountable and effective governance at the local level. Yet political corruption often hinders effective delivery of local services like water, sanitation, or primary education. Increasing monitoring of elected officials’ actions and reporting on those actions to a wider audience of citizens is one possible way to decrease incidences of corruption among local officials.

Although conflicting recommendations have been issued, recent evidence suggests that face masks may significantly reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2. However, questions remain on how to effectively promote mask adoption. Research are conducting a randomized evaluation to evaluate the impact of free mask distribution combined with educational interventions on mask adoption in Kenya.

Researchers conducted two randomized evaluations to test the impact of coaching teachers on integrating CAL in their elementary and middle school mathematics instruction in two large, diverse school districts in the United States. The intervention led to improved math performance in one evaluation and mixed results in the other, with test-score gains observed in classrooms with higher weekly CAL practice time.

In many countries, rural populations access social services through decentralized systems that hire community-based workers with high monitoring needs, leaving little time for supervisors to perform other essential functions. Researchers are evaluating the impact of a phone-based e-monitoring app and organizational structure on frontline worker performance and service delivery in Sierra Leone.

Researchers assessed the impact of outreach on Medicaid retention; outreach messages provided a reminder to renew as well as information about how to obtain free one-on-one assistance with renewal processes from health insurance navigators. Outreach using pre-recorded calls prevented denials due to procedural reasons and increased Medicaid renewal rates by 1.0 percentage point across the full study population, by 4.0 percentage points for Tribal members, 2.1 percentage points for children, and 1.9 percentage points for people with chronic conditions.

Researchers partnered with Innovations for Poverty Action and Bangladeshi policymakers to test various strategies to increase mask-wearing and assess the impact of community mask wearing on SARS-CoV-2 infection rates. They found that a four-part intervention tripled mask usage and increased physical distancing. Further, this increase in mask-wearing reduced symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections. When surgical masks were employed, 1 in 3 symptomatic infections were avoided for individuals 60+ years old—the age group that faces the highest risk of death following infection. This was the first large-scale randomized evaluation to demonstrate the effectiveness of masks in a real-world setting.

Researchers partnered with the Government of Pakistan to conduct two parallel randomized evaluations to test the impact of providing supplemental teaching materials on the quality of student learning and teachers’ effectiveness. Overall, the eLearn Classroom intervention improved student achievement and students’ attendance for grade 8 students. Conversely, providing grade 6 students with individual eLearn Tablets worsened their test scores.

In partnership with three microfinance institutions (MFIs), researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of providing loans, cash grants, or in-kind grants on microentrepreneurs’ business decisions, outcomes, and overall welfare. All three types of capital assistance led to increases in business and economic outcomes, especially for women. Impacts were concentrated among the best-performing recipients of each type of assistance, and researchers found that observable characteristics were the same among those top-performers across all three groups. This suggests that personal characteristics are more important than the type of assistance in predicting the effectiveness of capital assistance.

Following a series of evaluations of the Graduation approach in 15 other countries, researchers are now evaluating the impact of the Graduation approach on the livelihoods of the ultra-poor in Upper Egypt.

Researchers worked with First Valley Bank in the Philippines to evaluate the impact of varying the interest rate and account ownership requirements on demand for commitment savings accounts. While savings account take-up was 23 percent, neither the interest rates nor the ownership requirements affected individuals’ demand for accounts.