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News, ideas, and analysis from J-PAL staff and affiliated professors. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive monthly email updates.

A Black Principal Investigator sitting at a table speaking with a Black older man

Bridging gaps in health care: The impact of investigator diversity on clinical trials

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J-PAL affiliated researcher Marcella Alsan and coauthors Romaine Campbell, Lukas Leister, and Ayotomiwa Ojo share insights from their research on how investigator racial diversity affects clinical trial participation by Black respondents.
A woodchipper with 'Fire District 3' written on it working on by a road.

Building research partnerships to address wildfire risk in Jackson County, Oregon

Deputy Director of the Western Fire Chiefs Association Chief Bob Horton and researchers Judson Boomhower (UC San Diego) and Patrick Baylis (University of British Columbia) discuss their research partnership to evaluate a program encouraging households to take up wildfire prevention practices.
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African Scholar Spotlight: Dr. Toyin Samuel Olowogbon

This post is part of our ongoing series showcasing the work and perspectives of economists from the African continent who are leading randomized evaluations. This post features Toyin Samuel Olowogbon, an agricultural economist at the Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Empowerment and a postdoctoral...
Man in field with crops

Celebrating the DAISI Regional Scholars Program—Two-years strong

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  • Abel Mkulama
The Regional Scholars Program has taken center stage at the Digital Agricultural Innovations and Services Initiative (DAISI) nearly two years after its launch. The DAISI Regional Scholars Program is integral to DAISI and promotes research opportunities for scholars based in sub-Saharan Africa and...
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Grant Bridgman, J-PAL '14, on breaking down language barriers in Africa and Asia

The Alumni Spotlight series highlights J-PAL alumni who are making an impact across industries and around the world. Formerly a research analyst at J-PAL Africa, Grant Bridgman '14 now leads Uliza, a translation start-up that aims to improve access to information across hundreds of languages. He...
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Scaling an early childhood program in Peru: Lessons from an alliance between Aporta, IPA, and J-PAL LAC

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In 2017, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) Peru and J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean (J-PAL LAC) began a collaboration with the Peruvian civil association Aporta—the social impact platform of Breca, a conglomerate of Peruvian companies. The main goal was to promote the use of data and...
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Lesson #2 | What not-to-do: Wisdom from years of trials (and errors)

In the second part of this series, Shobhini Murkerji dives into her second lesson learned: Don’t trade for short gains—play the long game.
A craft store employee in Cianjur, West Java.

Using alternative data and artificial intelligence to expand financial inclusion: Evidence-based insights

Firms using innovative credit-scoring (ICS) have emerged to help banks and peer-to-peer lenders predict potential borrowers’ likelihood to repay a loan. In contrast to traditional credit scoring models that use credit history, ICS uses artificial intelligence to evaluate data unrelated to a borrower...