Researchers evaluated the impact of a series of class discussions in middle school that emphasized the importance of these skills on student behavior and test scores. The program improved participating students’ academic achievement, particularly among girls, well-behaved students, and non-recipients of financial aid.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of offering financial rewards to farmers to stop burning rice stalk stubble on their eventual crop residue burning decisions in Punjab, India. They found that pre-harvest payments to farmers helped them to take costly actions to reduce burning by 10 percentage points, compared to when farmers only received payments after completing harvest and field-clearing.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the effect of a basic CCT program, as well as two complementary interventions, on households’ vulnerability to irregular weather patterns. Providing households with vocational training or capital grants to generate non-agricultural income helps improve consumption and resilience to weather shocks.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation during the summer months of 2023 to test the impact of using contracts or contests to encourage energy savings and assess their cost-effectiveness. Researchers found that contests and contracts achieved similar levels of energy savings. However, contests were nearly twice as cost-effective compared to contracts.

Researchers evaluated a secondary school readiness program, Utkarsh, that provided targeted instruction to students in Odisha, India.