The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,000 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,000 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
Our affiliated professors are based at over 120 universities and conduct randomized evaluations around the world to design, evaluate, and improve programs and policies aimed at reducing poverty. They set their own research agendas, raise funds to support their evaluations, and work with J-PAL staff on research, policy outreach, and training.
Our Board of Directors, which is composed of J-PAL affiliated professors and senior management, provides overall strategic guidance to J-PAL, our sector programs, and regional offices.
J-PAL recognizes that there is a lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of economics and in our field of work. Read about what actions we are taking to address this.
We host events around the world and online to share results and policy lessons from randomized evaluations, to build new partnerships between researchers and practitioners, and to train organizations on how to design and conduct randomized evaluations, and use evidence from impact evaluations.
Browse news articles about J-PAL and our affiliated professors, read our press releases and monthly global and research newsletters, and connect with us for media inquiries.
Based at leading universities around the world, our experts are economists who use randomized evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty. Connect with us for all media inquiries and we'll help you find the right person to shed insight on your story.
J-PAL is based at MIT in Cambridge, MA and has seven regional offices at leading universities in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
J-PAL is based at MIT in Cambridge, MA and has seven regional offices at leading universities in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Our global office is based at the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It serves as the head office for our network of seven independent regional offices.
Led by affiliated professors, J-PAL sectors guide our research and policy work by conducting literature reviews; by managing research initiatives that promote the rigorous evaluation of innovative interventions by affiliates; and by summarizing findings and lessons from randomized evaluations and producing cost-effectiveness analyses to help inform relevant policy debates.
Led by affiliated professors, J-PAL sectors guide our research and policy work by conducting literature reviews; by managing research initiatives that promote the rigorous evaluation of innovative interventions by affiliates; and by summarizing findings and lessons from randomized evaluations and producing cost-effectiveness analyses to help inform relevant policy debates.
How do policies affecting private sector firms impact productivity gaps between higher-income and lower-income countries? How do firms’ own policies impact economic growth and worker welfare?
How can we identify effective policies and programs in low- and middle-income countries that provide financial assistance to low-income families, insuring against shocks and breaking poverty traps?
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.
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...
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...
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.
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...
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...
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.
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.