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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 poster in Indonesia with health recommendations

Cushioning the poor from the COVID-19 shock

In an op-ed for Project Syndicate, Rema Hanna and Ben Olken explain that expanding social protection to reach the most vulnerable people must be a pillar of every country’s COVID-19 strategy.
A man sits at a desk, looking at laptop screen while writing notes

10 tips for learner success in online courses

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To help ease the transition to online learning, Quetzali Ramírez, a top-performing MicroMasters learner and teaching assistant (TA), and I compiled ten tips gathered from our collective experience as online learners and supporters of others’ online learning experiences.
Image of a PSA stating: Stay home, limit travel, save lives

Increasing adherence to COVID-19 guidelines: Lessons from existing evidence

J-PAL health sector co-chairs and staff discuss some lessons from the evidence for increasing adherence to Covid-19 guidelines
A Zoom screenshot of seven staffers performing on guitars, dancing, juggling, and speaking.

Staff engagement in face of a pandemic

Learn how J-PAL staff have come together to build a vibrant virtual community in face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A man speaks into a microphone, giving a presentation

Emmanuel Bakirdjian, J-PAL ‘17, uses evidence to help farmers increase agricultural yield across East Africa

We caught up with Emmanuel Bakirdjian, a former senior research manager at J-PAL Africa. Emmanuel joined J-PAL Africa in 2012 and oversaw many of its research projects. Now the Africa Regional Director at Precision Agriculture for Development in Kenya, Emmanuel is leading an effort to help farmers...
Headshot of a woman

Amanda Dawes Ibáñez, J-PAL ‘14, is at the nexus of research and policy design

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Amanda joined J-PAL LAC during its earliest years and led the development of many foundational research partnerships and projects. Now the head of the social policy division at the Ministry of Social Development in Chile, Amanda is leading an effort to rethink Chile’s social policy ecosystem and...
Women stand in line waiting to cast their vote at a polling station in in Barpeta, Assam, India.

Can information lead to better voting decisions? Evidence from information campaigns in India

Out of 539 winners in India’s 2019 general election for the lower house of Parliament, 29 percent have, at some point, been charged with serious criminal cases, including cases related to rape, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women. Why do voters elect criminal politicians...

J-PAL's response to COVID-19

A letter from Iqbal Dhaliwal, J-PAL's Global Executive Director, on J-PAL's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.