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A passion that became a career: J-PAL's Diana Warira receives 2021 Africa Evidence Leadership Award

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J-PAL policy manager Diana Warira Njeri is the 2021 winner of the Africa Evidence Leadership Award (AELA) offered by the Africa Evidence Network (AEN). AEN caught up with Diana about receiving the award and asked her some questions about what the Africa Evidence Leadership Award means for her work.
Two men work on a solar panel used for lighting village homes in Sri Lanka

Earth Day 2021: Evaluating the state of evidence in climate action and poverty alleviation

Earth Day presents an opportunity for citizens, policymakers, and the private sector alike to take stock of the state of our planet and our progress in fighting climate change. This Earth Day, we must also acknowledge climate change's disproportionate impact on people experiencing poverty. To...
Poll workers wear personal protective gear outside of election sites in Indonesia in 2020.

Generating evidence-based insights for good governance during and after Covid-19

How to achieve good governance—as measured by accountability, government effectiveness, and control of corruption—is a question that has been at the heart of J-PAL’s Governance Initiative (GI) since its inception in 2011. In response, GI funds rigorous experimental research projects tackling a...
A smiling girl holds a piece of paper.

Shifting social and gender norms for improved development outcomes: A recap from the Global Evidence for Egypt Spotlight Webinar

While Egypt has made some progress towards gender equality and girls’ and women's empowerment, traditional gender roles and power dynamics continue to persist. Egypt has one of the highest gender gaps in the world, ranking 134th out of 153 countries in the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Gender...
People wearing masks stand in a line.

Growth is not enough

With an abundance of important and sometimes surprising findings from studies of socioeconomic interventions in recent decades, it is clear that development in the absence of evidence-based policymaking is a fool's errand. The small details matter as much as—and sometimes more than—the economic big...
A healthcare worker uses an infrared thermometer to take a woman's temperature

Closing the Covid trust deficit

Economists have developed an emerging body of evidence that holds important lessons for overcoming COVID-19 information constraints, combating misinformation, and building trust in health systems. These insights may also help to improve delivery and increase uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. This op-ed...
Government officials stand on steps

Taking action on state and local policy priorities

This past fall, the J-PAL North America State and Local Innovation Initiative hosted a series of webinars to discuss how state and local governments can use lessons from randomized evaluations to address these timely policy challenges. The initiative seeks to take action on the conversations from...
Men and women are lined up outside holding boxes containing food aid.

Covid-19-induced crises of hunger and poverty require bold, effective international response

The Biden Administration has affirmed its commitment to work with other countries and multilateral institutions to combat Covid-19 to advance global health security. We commend this spirit of partnership and we urge similar bold, evidence-informed global action to tackle the accompanying crises of...