Researchers studied the impact of acknowledging and refuting stigma on take-up of labor market assistance programs. The results of three randomized evaluations indicated that mentioning stigma, even with the aim of dispelling it, generally reduced take-up of these programs.

Young job seekers in many countries face higher rates of unemployment, underemployment, and unstable employment than older groups, caused in part by information barriers. Researchers conducted an evaluation to test the impact of LinkedIn training on labor market outcomes for young, low-income job seekers in South Africa. Providing LinkedIn training increased end-of-program employment rates by 10 percent (7 percentage points), with effects persisting for twelve months.

In Bangladesh, researchers partnered with BRAC to evaluate the impact of repayment flexibility in loan contracts for microentrepreneurs. Repayment flexibility benefited traditional microfinance borrowers primarily through the provision of insurance, enabling riskier investments at lower default rates.

In partnership with the Latvian tax authority, researchers tested several types of emails to investigate the effect of behaviorally-informed messages on tax compliance. Messages that aimed to deter bad behavior by highlighting taxpayers’ moral obligations towards action increased on-time tax declaration submissions. In contrast, messages meant to induce social pressure did not increase on-time compliance, though they increased overall submission rates (i.e., the submission of on-time as well as late declarations).

Researchers partnered with the Government of Indonesia to conduct a randomized evaluation that tested whether adding questions on flat-screen televisions and cellphone SIM cards to a targeting census would change people’s reporting and actual purchases of those items. The findings suggest that while targeting may cause people to misreport what they own in the short term for some goods, it is unlikely to change people’s decisions about whether to actually purchase those items.

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of Chile’s economic stimulus package on the profits and survival of SMEs.

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing emergency job retention assistance to firms and workers on firm survival, worker-firm match survival, and labor market outcomes for firm owners and workers in Ghana’s informal sector. Research is ongoing; results are forthcoming.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing cash transfers to female entrepreneurs during the pandemic on their business outcomes and behavior. Firm profit, inventory spending, and food expenditures all increased for business owners that received the cash transfer. Additionally, the transfers caused a re-opening of previously closed businesses; however, PPE spending and precautionary management practices only increased among those who perceived Covid-19 as a major health risk.