Researchers evaluated the effect of distributing “value-added” teacher evaluations to principals in New York City. Their findings suggest that principals found the reports useful and used them to inform their overall perceptions of teacher effectiveness.

Skilled immigrants in Canada struggle in the labor market, facing substantially higher levels of unemployment and lower wages than non-immigrants. Researchers randomly manipulated thousands of resumes to measure the effects that foreign experience and having a name of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, or Greek origin (all large immigrant groups in Canada) have on callback rates from employers. Resumes with English-sounding names received more callbacks than those with Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, or Greek names. Work experience in Canada increased responses for resumes with Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, or Greek names, but callback rates were still lower than those with English-sounding names.

Researchers examined whether a simple, inexpensive information campaign could change students’ knowledge and perceptions about post-secondary education. When exposed to an informational video, students who had been initially unsure about pursuing higher education reported expectations of higher returns to a post-secondary degree, lower concerns about costs, and also reported a greater likelihood of enrolling in a post-secondary institution. Students who had already been planning to pursue post-secondary education were more likely to believe they were eligible for grant aid.

Researchers examined the impact of a program that offered financial merit awards combined with academic support services on the learning outcomes of Canadian university students. Results suggest that the impact of such incentives was modest.

Workers without social connections may be disadvantaged in the labor market because employers favor applicants who have been referred. Researchers tested three interventions in an online labor market to investigate why employers are more likely to hire referred workers. First, referrals provide a signal that workers will perform well and have lower turnover. Referred workers outperformed and had lower churn than non-referred workers with the same observable characteristics. This is true even at companies to which they were not referred. Second, being referred makes workers more productive. Referred workers were particularly productive when they work with their referrers. However, workers’ concerns about their reputation with their referrer or their referrer’s position at the firm did not lead workers to exert more effort.

Certified teachers were no more likely than non-applicants to be effective at improving students’ test scores, but were more effective than unsuccessful applicants. Researchers found that estimates of teacher effectiveness based on test scores from previous years were a strong predictor of student achievement.

Encouraging the adoption of health seeking behaviors remains a challenge today, despite the affordability and availability of health improving technologies and services. Researchers tested whether providing principals in rural primary schools in China with information, school subsidies, and performance based financial incentives reduced the prevalence of anemia in schools. Only schools receiving the financial incentive showed a significant decrease in anemia prevalence; however when pre-existing incentives for educational performance were also present, both the information and the financial incentives were effective in reducing anemia.

In partnership with Digital Green and Jeevika, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in Bihar, India, to assess the impact of a video-based training on female farmers’ adoption of a climate-smart technique called System of Rice Intensification (SRI), and their yields and profits. Farmers increased their yields and estimated profits and the intervention demonstrated cost-effectiveness.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of regular informational text messages to parents on children’s academic performance. The intervention improved math grades and attendance, although it did not impact negative classroom behavior on average. These effects were generally largest for those at highest risk of dropout.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing information about the quality of migration agencies to potential migrants on migration choices and welfare. Information reduced the rate of migration in the short term, which lowered workers’ use of low-quality agencies, but did not change their intentions to migrate in the future or beliefs about the returns to migration. Those who did migrate received better pre-departure training and reported higher-quality job experiences abroad.

Understanding the factors that influence voting behavior is a central policy issue. Often voting outcomes directly determine funding of critical public goods such as public education.