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

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New resource: Incorporating remote sensing data into randomized evaluations

A growing number of economists are incorporating remotely sensed (RS) data—satellite data in particular—into their studies. For randomized evaluations, remote data collection offers alluring possibilities: lower data collection costs, a longer time series of data both before and after an...

The next decade of RCT research: What can we learn from recent innovations in methods?

From Teaching at the Right Level to the multifaceted Graduation approach, J-PAL’s affiliated researcher network has helped to evaluate a diverse range of innovative interventions aimed at reducing poverty over the past twenty years.
Two women wearing headscarves use a drill to upcycle a piece of wood furniture.

New Humanitarian Protection Initiative will help reduce harm to people affected by conflict

By
Today, the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) launch the Humanitarian Protection Initiative (HPI). The core of this initiative is a research fund dedicated to generating rigorous evidence to inform policies and programs that protect conflict...
A man speaks to a classroom

African Scholar Spotlight: Dr. Arinze Nwokolo

In this spotlight, we speak with Arinze Nwokolo, Assistant Professor at the Lagos Business School in Nigeria. Arinze’s primary research interests focus on development, behavioral, and organizational economics as well as public policy, political economy, and finance.
Man taking care of a coffee tree that grows wild in a tropical rain forest in Pekalongan, Central Java, Indonesia.

Growing evidence-informed climate policy: Five scaling stories from the King Climate Action Initiative

J-PAL’s King Climate Action Initiative (K-CAI) supports pilot studies, randomized evaluations, and scaling projects at the nexus of climate change and poverty alleviation. Three years ago, the initiative concluded its first funding competition. Since then, K-CAI has generated evidence that has...
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Strengthening livelihoods in Central America through evidence

With the generous support of the Cotopaxi Foundation , J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean (J-PAL LAC) just launched a project that aims to improve livelihoods in Central America. The project, “Strengthening Livelihoods in Central America Through Evidence Use,” will share evidence, strengthen...
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Not as easy as A, B, C, 1, 2, 3: Emphasizing transparency in measuring holistic skills

Characteristics like creativity or motivation can be crucial components of a successful education, yet there is relatively little knowledge or consensus on how to effectively measure them. The Learning for All Initiative (LAI) recently published a literature review and guide on how researchers...
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2024 Annual Letter from the Global Executive Director

Celebrating our twentieth anniversary around the world over the past year was a welcome opportunity to take stock of J-PAL’s journey so far—a journey that saw us expand our research network from 8 to 900 researchers, learn from 2,200 randomized evaluations across 96 countries, and reach 600 million...