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

Five headshots of J-PAL North America's Finance and Operations Team

J-PAL North America Staff Spotlight: Finance and Operations Team

The fifth installment of our Staff Spotlight series features five J-PAL North America staff members who support our work through their roles on the finance and operations team, which provides key support to the work of J-PAL North America, from hiring to budget management to fundraising.
A man in a suit stands at a podium holding a microphone.

Alumni Voices: What it takes to make policy change

By
  • Héctor Salazar Salame
Héctor Salazar Salame, J-PAL '15 and the founding Executive Director of J-PAL Southeast Asia, reflects on the multi-dimensional approach needed to advance evidence-based social policy and lessons learned from his career in development policy. He currently serves as the Country Representative of The...
A child plays in a yard in Botswana

A state-of-the-art, cheap, scalable method to measure child and adult (multilingual) speech in early childhood interventions

By
  • Alessandra Cassar
  • Diana Contreras Suárez
  • Alejandrina Cristia
  • Pauline Grosjean
  • Sarah Walker
We describe a state-of-the-art, cheap, easily scalable method, relying on inexpensive hardware together with open-source technology to measure speech. We describe how the hardware is better suited than alternatives to field settings and large-scale interventions, and how the software is more precise...
Four people sit on a stage.

Understanding environmental challenges in Indonesia: The importance of collaboration, evidence, and context

To further support the Government of Indonesia's important work building climate resilience and a sustainable environment, J-PAL Southeast Asia held a conference on October 25, 2022, to bring together policymakers and practitioners in the field.
African women in a local market doing a digital transaction.

Digital IDs and e-payments in Africa: Consolidating what we (don’t) know (yet)

Digital identification (ID) can improve targeting and reduce leakages of government programs, while also enabling citizens to participate in the digital economy. However, digital ID systems can also lead to exclusion of vulnerable groups. The implementation of digital ID systems may be particularly...
Neha Sharma stands at a podium holding a microphone, with a poster in the background that reads "Enhancing Private Sector Engagement in Adaptation: South to South Learning"

Neha Sharma, J-PAL ‘12, on evaluating the impact of climate investments

By
The Alumni Spotlight series highlights J-PAL alumni who are making an impact across industries and around the world. Formerly a policy and training associate at J-PAL South Asia, Neha Sharma ‘12 now leads the Evaluation and Learning Unit at the Climate Investment Funds, hosted by the World Bank. She...
Elizabeth Linos is smiling for the camera in a short sleeve blue shirt standing against a brick wall

Affiliate Spotlight: Elizabeth Linos on understanding evidence use in government

In this Affiliate Spotlight, Elizabeth Linos, Faculty Director of The People Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, discusses her research interests in understanding the government workforce, improving service delivery, and improving the process of evidence-based policymaking.
Young boy learning through laptop

Online Tutoring: a Promising Solution for Accelerating Learning

During the Covid-19 pandemic, online tutoring emerged as a potential solution to education challenges resulting from school closures on a massive scale. We are just having a first glimpse of the consequences of the pandemic on students’ outcomes—and it does not look good.