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

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.
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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...
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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.
Two women gather around a computer on which an online course is displayed.

How to keep students engaged in online learning

Transitioning from a classroom to an online video conference is challenging for everyone involved—teachers must make extra effort to engage students effectively, and students in turn have to make an extra effort to stay engaged amid distractions at home. Research suggests that students typically do...
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Best practices for conducting phone surveys

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The protection of staff and respondents who participate in our research is of highest priority for J-PAL. As of March 17, J-PAL has therefore suspended all research activities that contribute to in-person interactions in order to limit COVID-19 spread. Many other research organizations have done so...