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

Students sitting at desks for first day of high school exams at Vittorio Alfieri state high school in Turin

J-PAL at 20: Promoting more inclusive education in Italy

This blog post, part of J-PAL Europe's series on research and activities across Europe, looks at a series of randomised evaluations in Italy that explore this question with a particular focus on students from immigrant families. As school systems across Europe welcome increasingly diverse...
Two headshots are placed in a collage together; on the left, there is a color photo of a woman, on the right, there is a black and white photo of a man.

Alumni Voices: The first draft of emissions trading in India

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Yuanjian Carla Li (former Senior Research Associate, 2010-12) and Arun Singh (former Research Associate, 2013-15) were among the first few research staff members at J-PAL South Asia who helped spur conversations around emissions trading in India.
Students sitting as desks at J-PAL Africa’s 2022 Evaluating Social Programs course at the African School fof Economics in Abuja, Nigeria

Building skills to advance impact evaluation: J-PAL’s Evaluating Social Programs course

In this blog, we highlight two notable examples of how Evaluating Social Programs courses led to high-impact research and policy partnerships, while recognizing the impressive community of practice among course alumni around the world.
Officer signing papers at URJA desk

In their own words: Female officers on the front lines of gender-targeted police reforms

J-PAL affiliated professor Sandip Sukhtankar (University of Virginia) and co-authors, in collaboration with the Madhya Pradesh Police Research and Training Department, conducted a randomised evaluation to test the impact of gender-targeted police reforms in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India.
Woman looking at produce at market

What the research says on improving women's economic agency and employment outcomes

In this blog, we summarize ongoing research and lessons from randomized evaluations funded by the Gender and Economic Agency (GEA) Initiative and the Jobs and Opportunity Initiative (JOI), which address open questions related to women’s work and economic empowerment.
Rows of houses in the Bay Area in California on a hill in the sunlight

BAE Incubator partner series, part five: Seeking systems-level change to address housing instability

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Homelessness in the United States is a pressing issue that requires increased research on effective strategies to address it and foster long-term housing stability. With grant funding from Google.org — Google’s philanthropic arm—the Bay Area Evaluation (BAE) Incubator supported Bay Area service...
Young girls in elementary school, Harar, Ethiopia, Africa

Advancing the Agenda in Girls' Education Research

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Girls’ education remains a global priority for donors and governments. Many researchers suggest that the research community should coalesce around a set of coherent research priorities to help close gender gaps in education. This article outlines some crucial next steps to advance the research...
Two women sit on the floor and look at the camera, with a room full of people behind them.

Laura Costica, J-PAL '14, on applying impact evaluations in humanitarian settings

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The Alumni Spotlight series highlights J-PAL alumni who are making an impact across industries and around the world. Formerly a research manager at J-PAL Africa, Laura Costica ‘14 now manages monitoring, learning, and evaluation at the IKEA Foundation. She describes her journey from J-PAL to the...