Working in Botswana, researchers rapidly evaluated a phone-based remote learning program aimed at keeping children engaged with math during the Covid-19 pandemic. Students who received weekly SMS messages and phone calls to review math exercises increased their math skills after twelve weeks, while students who received only SMS messages did not.

Voters in Benin had a preference for clientelist political platforms, but certain subsets of voters such as women, consumers of mass media, and members of social organizations were less receptive to clientelism.

Researchers evaluated the effects of a program designed to improve parental knowledge about students’ opportunities at the end of middle school on schooling decisions and dropout behavior. The program helped parents and their children make more realistic educational choices, reducing grade repetition and high-school dropouts.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to understand whether providing information about the risk of accident and methods for prevention, or incentives to install home safety measures affect take-up of a home safety adaptations program. Cost reduction incentives and information disclosures increased take-up of home safety adaptations. Providing information on the perceived risks of falling was more effective than offering home adaptations for free.

Researchers evaluated the impact of a program aiming to develop the autonomy and decision-making skills of young people interested in starting a company or organization. They found that the program had positive impacts on the employment status, income, and overall confidence of the participants.

Researchers used two randomized evaluations to identify whether the motive for giving in public can be primarily linked to a desire for prestige (the “image” effect) or a hope that a public gift will influence others (the “signal” effect). They found that a desire to improve social image largely explained why public recognition of contributions to charitable organizations increased individual donations in the United States.

In India, a biometrically authenticated payment system reduced corruption and substantially improved the delivery of government social assistance programs despite partial implementation.

Researchers provided payday borrowers in the United States information about the true costs of payday loans in order to find out whether they would respond by changing their demand for the product. Better informed individuals reduced their demand significantly, suggesting that getting consumers to think more broadly about the decision to take up a payday loan may result in a reduction in the amount of payday borrowing.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of the impact of the Oportunidades CCT program in Mexico on recipients’ investments decisions and long-run poverty levels. They found that the cash transfers promoted long-term increases in consumption through investment in productive activities, enabling beneficiary households to achieve higher living standards that can be sustained even after transitioning off the program.

Researchers compared the impacts of providing group- or individual-liability loans to women in rural Mongolia. Access to group loans increased business ownership and food consumption among poor women, while individual loans had no effect on these outcomes.

In 2008, women accounted for 18 percent of parliamentarians worldwide, and only 13 countries had a female head of government. In India, researchers studied the impact of a constitutional amendment that reserved village council leadership positions for women on adolescent girls’ career aspirations, educational attainment, and labor market outcomes. The gender gap in adolescent educational attainment was erased in villages with female leaders, and girls spent less time on household chores. Furthermore, adolescent girls had higher aspirations, as did their parents on their behalf.

Youth unemployment—an acute problem in Sub-Saharan Africa—can have long-term negative implications, both on individuals’ quality of life and on broader socio-economic development outcomes. A lack of necessary skills is often cited as contributing to high unemployment, and there is little evidence on what types of training can lead to positive outcomes. In an ongoing evaluation, researchers are investigating the impact of entrepreneurship training and the role of soft versus hard skills on Ugandan youth.