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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 close-up of Kodjo Aflagah speaking while sitting at a table.

African Scholar Spotlight: Dr. Kodjo Aflagah

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Dr. Kodjo Aflagah joined the J-PAL Teaching at the Right Level and Digital Identification and Finance Initiative teams, having just completed his PhD in economics at the University of Maryland. His fields of specialization include development economics and applied econometrics, with a particular...
Faith Masekesa presents slides to a lecture hall.

African Scholar Spotlight: Dr. Faith Masekesa

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Dr. Faith Masekesa joined J-PAL Africa as a postdoctoral research fellow to support our administrative data partnership with the City of Cape Town. Her research interests span development economics, econometrics, experimental and behavioral economics, social protection and social policy.
A woman with a mask on puts a mask on a young girl

Designing adaptive social assistance during COVID-19: A recap from the Evidence for Egypt Spotlight Webinar

To address how existing social assistance programs in Egypt could be enhanced in response to COVID-19 and large external shocks in general, J-PAL MENA and UNICEF Egypt held a webinar on “Social Assistance Response to Large External Shocks in Egypt: What We Can Learn from Randomized Evaluations.”...
A smiling women speaks on a cell phone in front of an Mpesa stand.

Building back better: Catalyzing digital financial services for women across Africa

The G7 partnership on women's digital financial inclusion in Africa, of which J-PAL Africa’s Digital Identification and Finance Initiative is a participant, recently held its first annual event focused on Catalyzing Digital Financial Services for Women Across Africa: Supporting Recovery, Resilience...
Three people conduct digital cash transfer payments

Reaching the most vulnerable: Can digitization improve social assistance targeting?

Governments around the world rely on social assistance to reduce poverty, but the poorest are often left behind. To what extent can digital identity and payment systems improve targeting of government transfers?
A person is speaking in front of a group of teachers in a classroom.

The devil’s in the details (of adapting and scaling evidence-based programs)

J-PAL Senior Policy Associate Robert Rogers discusses his experience working on an education scale-up in Cote d'Ivoire.
A man and woman use their phones for a mobile money transfer

The rise of mobile money in sub-Saharan Africa: Has this digital technology lived up to its promises?

Mobile money has been touted as a revolutionary tool for expanding access to financial services in low resource environments. But does this technology live up to its promises? What are the impacts on the households who use mobile money?
Alejandra Bellating presents a research poster to an audience standing around her.

Alumni Voices: Tracking COVID-19 and the digital economy at the Bank of Canada

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  • Alejandra Bellatin
Alejandra Bellatin (former Policy Intern, J-PAL LAC ’18) discusses her work at the Bank of Canada gathering high frequency indicators for the economic impact of COVID-19 and her new research regarding the impact of digitalization on the labor market.