Blog

News

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

A headshot of a woman and a headshot of a man.

DEDP Alumni Spotlight: Pursuing research around the world while staying connected to the J-PAL community

Since the inaugural 2020 cohort, 66 graduates of the DEDP program have earned their master’s degrees, and the current cohort will graduate in September 2023 to join the alumni community. We caught up with a few of our alumni who are PhD students to learn about their work, goals, and journeys from...
Two headshots are placed in a collage together; on the left, there is a color photo of a woman, on the right, there is a black and white photo of a man.

Alumni Voices: The first draft of emissions trading in India

By
Yuanjian Carla Li (former Senior Research Associate, 2010-12) and Arun Singh (former Research Associate, 2013-15) were among the first few research staff members at J-PAL South Asia who helped spur conversations around emissions trading in India.
Two women sit on the floor and look at the camera, with a room full of people behind them.

Laura Costica, J-PAL '14, on applying impact evaluations in humanitarian settings

By
The Alumni Spotlight series highlights J-PAL alumni who are making an impact across industries and around the world. Formerly a research manager at J-PAL Africa, Laura Costica ‘14 now manages monitoring, learning, and evaluation at the IKEA Foundation. She describes her journey from J-PAL to the...
A man in a suit stands at a podium holding a microphone.

Alumni Voices: What it takes to make policy change

By
  • Héctor Salazar Salame
Héctor Salazar Salame, J-PAL '15 and the founding Executive Director of J-PAL Southeast Asia, reflects on the multi-dimensional approach needed to advance evidence-based social policy and lessons learned from his career in development policy. He currently serves as the Country Representative of The...
Neha Sharma stands at a podium holding a microphone, with a poster in the background that reads "Enhancing Private Sector Engagement in Adaptation: South to South Learning"

Neha Sharma, J-PAL ‘12, on evaluating the impact of climate investments

By
The Alumni Spotlight series highlights J-PAL alumni who are making an impact across industries and around the world. Formerly a policy and training associate at J-PAL South Asia, Neha Sharma ‘12 now leads the Evaluation and Learning Unit at the Climate Investment Funds, hosted by the World Bank. She...
Research working with data banks

Transparent and accessible data: J-PAL alumna collaborated on an innovative approach with the Chilean government and researchers

By
Transparent and accessible data can be vital for researchers in the development of evidence-informed policies. In Chile, the State opened a door for researchers to access local transparent data to work together to answer key questions. Amanda Dawes, a J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean alumna...
Mary Ann Bates speaking behind a podium with MIT and J-PAL logos in the background

Mary Ann Bates, J-PAL ‘21, on shaping the use of data and evidence in federal and state government

This installment of our Alumni Spotlight series features Mary Ann Bates, former executive director of J-PAL North America, and currently the executive director of the State of California’s Cradle-to-Career System.
A grid of headshots of the 34 alumni who have participated in our feature series.

Reflecting on our global alumni community

We celebrate our alumni and their many interests and achievements through an ongoing series of interviews and blog s in which alumni share their work in their own words. Marking the third year of this documentation project, we're highlighting the 34 remarkable individuals we’ve interviewed to date...