Technology adoption often requires investments over time. As farmers realize new information about the costs and benefits of investments, they may abandon the newly adopted technology shortly after. Researchers partnered with the non-governmental organization Shared Value Africa and Dunavant Cotton Ltd to investigate the effects of subsidies and follow-through rewards on the adoption of an agroforestry tree species.

Researchers are using a randomized evaluation in Mexico to study the incentives media stations face when choosing to provide voters with indicators of their incumbent party’s performance in office.

Researchers introduced a price regulation on poultry vaccines in Tanzania to evaluate the impact of reducing service providers’ discretion over prices on the number of recipients served, prices charged, and the overall welfare of beneficiaries. The price-cap reduced the average price of vaccinations, thereby making the product more accessible for smaller-scale and lower-income farmers. However, without discretion to raise prices, providers reduced coverage to more remote areas. On net, introducing price-caps reduced welfare.

During the 2016 Ugandan elections, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of an anti-vote-buying campaign to study voter behavior and electoral outcomes. Overall, the campaign did not reduce the extent of vote buying, but it had substantial effects on electoral outcomes.

Can facilitating relationships between small- and medium-sized businesses help them grow? In Jiangxi Province, China, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to study the impact of business relationships on firm performance. Monthly meetings among firms increased sales, profits, and other business outcomes, mainly by facilitating learning and partnership development.

Self-control problems can lead people to fall short of their personal and professional goals, often resulting in lower than desired workplace productivity. Researchers, in partnership with an Indian data entry firm, conducted a randomized evaluation to test whether self-control problems existed in the workplace and strategies mitigate these problems.

Researchers tested whether an informative letter campaign could reduce inappropriate prescribing of controlled substances in Medicare Part D. Letters had no detectable effect on prescribing. In ongoing work, researchers are testing alternative versions of letters.