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

People walk through an outdoor market in Chile.

Data collection, new RCTs, and policy guidance to inform pandemic response and recovery

The past year has been filled with tragedy and sacrifice—but, critically, also innovation, as researchers and policymakers addressed new challenges with creative solutions. Existing and newly generated evidence has informed many policies over the past year, providing a roadmap for incorporating...
A man wearing a mask sits at a desk typing on a computer.

Evidence from the AEA RCT Registry on new research during Covid-19

A host of new studies sprung up in response to the changing realities of field work and research priorities during the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to identify trends in the research pipeline, we examined public data from the AEA RCT Registry and the Harvard Dataverse .
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 woman wearing academic dress sits in front of a laptop and smiles at the photographer.

Pursuing evidence-based policymaking during crisis

By
In this blog post, members of a research-practice partnership with the Puerto Rico Department of Education reflect on their strategies to improve education outcomes and to persevere during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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...
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...
A woman at a desk with a baby on her lap looks at her laptop screen while the baby plays

The challenges of childcare in a pandemic and the impact on women’s work

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, 99 percent of the world’s 2.36 billion children faced some restrictions on movement, and 60 percent faced lockdown measures. With many schools and daycare facilities closed, who is taking care of the children?
Woman works with a sewing machine in Ghana

Reflecting on J-PAL’s Jobs and Opportunity Initiative’s first year

Quality employment is one of the many ways people can graduate from poverty. Yet, unemployment remains is a problem that has only become more salient through the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of 2020, the Jobs and Opportunity Initiativehas funded more than twenty projects that seek to answer...