The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,000 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,000 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
Our affiliated professors are based at over 120 universities and conduct randomized evaluations around the world to design, evaluate, and improve programs and policies aimed at reducing poverty. They set their own research agendas, raise funds to support their evaluations, and work with J-PAL staff on research, policy outreach, and training.
Our Board of Directors, which is composed of J-PAL affiliated professors and senior management, provides overall strategic guidance to J-PAL, our sector programs, and regional offices.
J-PAL recognizes that there is a lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of economics and in our field of work. Read about what actions we are taking to address this.
We host events around the world and online to share results and policy lessons from randomized evaluations, to build new partnerships between researchers and practitioners, and to train organizations on how to design and conduct randomized evaluations, and use evidence from impact evaluations.
Browse news articles about J-PAL and our affiliated professors, read our press releases and monthly global and research newsletters, and connect with us for media inquiries.
Based at leading universities around the world, our experts are economists who use randomized evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty. Connect with us for all media inquiries and we'll help you find the right person to shed insight on your story.
J-PAL is based at MIT in Cambridge, MA and has seven regional offices at leading universities in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
J-PAL is based at MIT in Cambridge, MA and has seven regional offices at leading universities in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Our global office is based at the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It serves as the head office for our network of seven independent regional offices.
Led by affiliated professors, J-PAL sectors guide our research and policy work by conducting literature reviews; by managing research initiatives that promote the rigorous evaluation of innovative interventions by affiliates; and by summarizing findings and lessons from randomized evaluations and producing cost-effectiveness analyses to help inform relevant policy debates.
Led by affiliated professors, J-PAL sectors guide our research and policy work by conducting literature reviews; by managing research initiatives that promote the rigorous evaluation of innovative interventions by affiliates; and by summarizing findings and lessons from randomized evaluations and producing cost-effectiveness analyses to help inform relevant policy debates.
How do policies affecting private sector firms impact productivity gaps between higher-income and lower-income countries? How do firms’ own policies impact economic growth and worker welfare?
How can we identify effective policies and programs in low- and middle-income countries that provide financial assistance to low-income families, insuring against shocks and breaking poverty traps?
Juliette Keeley was a senior policy associate at J-PAL North America and later a West Africa policy consultant for J-PAL. Now a manager at Instiglio—a nonprofit consultancy focusing on results-based financing and performance management in developing countries—she reflects on her experiences working...
Alicia Sasser Modestino is affiliate and an associate professor of public policy and urban affairs and economics at Northeastern University. Modestino also serves as the Director of Research at Northeastern University’s Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy.
Job and wage losses in the United States have disproportionately impacted low-income workers, workers of color, and women, setting the stage for pre-existing racial and gendered wealth and wage gaps to widen. The COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Initiative aims to identify effective ways to support...
This blog post is part one of three in a series on how state and local governments in the United States can promote upward mobility in their communities. It is part of J-PAL North America’s work to develop a learning agenda that summarizes the core research priorities from state and local...
Better understanding and addressing the social determinants of health is critical to improving individual and population health and advancing health equity. J-PAL North America’s COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Initiative aims to contribute to knowledge in this area by testing strategies to...
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant reductions in the quality and quantity of schooling across the United States. J-PAL North America’s The COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Initiative COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Initiative aims to identify effective ways to support students...
As the new school year begins and COVID-19 cases continue to spread across the United States, questions remain about how to educate students effectively and safely. We sat down with affiliate Sarah Cohodes to discuss the school reopening process, the impact of remote learning on students and parents...
How can policy leaders best support their communities in the face of the joblessness, educational setbacks, and trauma inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic? Rigorous evidence will play a critical role in helping us understand which policies and programs will truly work to help communities recover in...