Researchers examined whether a program that provides people who are incarcerated with services both prior to and after their release could improve employment prospects and reduce recidivism. One year later, the program increased employment and reduced the likelihood of re-arrest. However, earnings among the people with a criminal conviction who were employed were low and left many below the poverty line.

Researchers analyzed the impact of a program that provided students in California with a home computer on students’ academic achievement. The program had no effect (either positive or negative) on any educational outcome, including grades, standardized test scores, and attendance.

Researchers assessed the impact of outreach on Medicaid retention; outreach messages provided a reminder to renew as well as information about how to obtain free one-on-one assistance with renewal processes from health insurance navigators. Outreach using pre-recorded calls prevented denials due to procedural reasons and increased Medicaid renewal rates by 1.0 percentage point across the full study population, by 4.0 percentage points for Tribal members, 2.1 percentage points for children, and 1.9 percentage points for people with chronic conditions.

In Chicago, researchers evaluated an intensive two-on-one math tutoring program for 9th and 10th grade male students in public schools to assess the effectiveness of individualized instruction. Students who were randomly assigned to tutoring scored higher on math exams, earned better grades in math, and were more likely to pass high school classes.

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

Subsidizing entrepreneurship training in the United States did not improve access to training services or promoted employment among groups affected by discrimination.

Researchers partnered with the German Federal Employment Agency to evaluate the impact of these contracts on job search behavior and employment outcomes. The contracts accelerated job finding when introduced early in the unemployment spell rather than later, but were only effective among less employable job seekers.