Research has shown that people living in poverty are more likely to experience a range of psychological barriers that might constrain economic success. These barriers may include lower aspirations and goals, a perception that their actions have limited impacts on their circumstances, time inconsistent preferences, as well as a lack of information about the potential for high-return investments. Unconditional cash transfers are an effective and increasingly popular approach to lifting households out of poverty, but households may benefit from additional support to maximize the impact of receiving cash.

Researchers partnered with the government of Uruguay to evaluate the impact of a national youth employment program. The program increased participants’ earnings and school enrollment during and up to two years after the program, suggesting that work-study programs may ease students’ school-to-work transition.

Researchers randomly assigned co-supervisors to production lines to evaluate the impact of exposing garment factory workers and supervisors to women managers on factory productivity, supervisor retention, and attitudes toward women. Several months after the intervention, there was no difference in productivity between lines managed by women and men, a higher rate of women promoted to supervisor relative to comparison factories, and more accurate ratings of women’s managerial abilities.

In China, students in districts with average incomes that are below the national average achieve lower levels of learning compared students in wealthier districts. Researchers introduced a computer-assisted learning program (CAL) to classrooms in Shaanxi Province to evaluate its impact on math test scores. The CAL program increased test scores on average and the cost of the program was halved by having two students share a computer. Furthermore, pairing students performing below the class average with students performing above the class average improved the effectiveness of CAL for both types of students.

Researchers evaluated the impact of immediately following up an early childhood development intervention for one-to-three-year-old children with a second intervention for three-to-six-year-olds. The early and late interventions each increased IQ and school readiness for children, although there was not enough evidence to determine whether offering both programs was more effective than offering one.

Recent studies have shown that a psychology-based entrepreneurial mindset training can have promising effects on business outcomes. In Ecuador, researchers are evaluating whether these skills can be taught at scale and online by testing the effects of an entrepreneurial mindset training program on youth education and employment outcomes. They are also investigating if and how the effects change when the program is paired with mentoring.

In partnership with the Government of Punjab, researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation of the Direct Benefit Transfers for Electricity program that creates a monetary incentive for farmers who are able to reduce consumption below a specified electricity allocation.