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

Students at event held in Universidad Catolica Chile

Inspiring students to explore development careers in Chile and Guatemala

While many tend to associate economics primarily with careers in investments and banking, development economics offers an alternative avenue that may be worth exploring. To help broaden this general perception, J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) recently held two events at partner...
A NEPI employee speaks with a respondent to determine their eligibility for the STYL program near Monrovia, Liberia

Preventing violence at scale: How practitioners are using evidence to adapt and scale CBT programs

A growing number of crime and violence prevention programs are drawing on psychosocial techniques to help shift people’s behaviors and attitudes, offering a potentially low-cost alternative to more traditional security sector strategies. In particular, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been...
Child laughing with parents and holding a spoon

Fostering early child development to alleviate poverty in Guatemala

In Guatemala—one of the countries with the world's highest stunting rates and low early childhood education enrollment—several organizations and government institutions increasingly recognize the importance of improving early child development (ECD) and have accumulated relevant key lessons on ECD...
The Ecomienza Program's Cohort 2023 in a virtual class

20 for 20: Promoting diversity in economics in LAC with current and former J-PAL staff

In this post, we speak with the co-founders of EconThaki, an organization created to improve diversity and inclusion in economics through information, training and mentoring in South America. Econthaki was launched by young Peruvian researchers, including Jostin Kitmang, J-PAL LAC Research Manager...
A woman gives a lecture and gestures with her hands.

Affiliate Spotlight: Raquel Bernal on early childhood education and the importance of lifelong learning

Raquel Bernal is Professor of Economics and President of Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. In this Affiliate Spotlight, she shares more about her path to development economics and her research on early childhood education.
Workers at a factory in Birigui, São Paulo, Brazil

Tackling Brazil's labor market challenges with evidence: JOI Brazil's research agenda

Brazil's labor market faces multiple challenges, including gender and racial disparities, an aging population where many lack access to savings or a pension, and adaptation to new labor regulations and digital transformation. The Covid-19 crisis exacerbated challenges as unemployment rates in the...
Pregnant woman with smartphone

Leveraging technology to improve child-caregiver interactions at scale

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Can technology be used to improve child-caregiver interactions and support child development? Traditional parenting interventions are often costly and tightly controlled, which limits their large-scale implementation. A low-cost intervention called Crianza Positiva, delivering text and audio...
Sao Paulo, Brazil - Department of Justice

Expanding government partnerships in Brazil and Mexico for evidence-informed policy

In this blog post, J-PAL staff highlight some examples of our policy partnership experiences and announce a selection process to engage with new governments in Brazil and Mexico.