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

A woman uses a mobile phone to make a cash transfer in front of a fruit stand.

Building a robust evidence-based research community: Strengthening pathways for African researchers

Researchers from many groups, including women, people of color, and people from low- and middle-income countries, are underrepresented in the field of economics and face numerous barriers to their growth. We hold the conviction that research grounded in knowledge of the geographic and cultural...
Training staff posing for a group photo in Cairo, Egypt

Catalyzing the use of evidence for effective business training and finance in Egypt

Alison Fahey and Lobna Kassim reflect on the successful partnership between J-PAL MENA at AUC and the MSME Development Agency to create a culture of evidence-based program and policy design.
Map of Latin America; participants' home countries are highlighted

J-PAL LAC welcomes the most diverse cohort yet to its impact evaluation Diploma program

J-PAL LAC is glad to welcome its fifth and most diverse Diploma cohort. Over six months, 32 students from six countries from LAC and 28 organizations will engage in over 100 hours of classes and conversations with J-PAL affiliates, UC Chile professors, and staff.
J-PAL Africa staff Palesa Thinta and Lloyd Belton reviewing MicroMasters material in Cape Town, South Africa.

Second cohort to graduate from the Data, Economics, and Development Policy master’s program joins a growing community of alumni

The second cohort in the Data, Economics, and Development Policy (DEDP) master’s program at MIT completed their degrees with a hybrid in-person and remote model in 2021. Thirteen students graduated in September after completing a summer capstone internship that applied their MIT coursework to real...
A person stands writing at a blackboard

Summer school with J-PAL Europe: Developing skills for building, testing and scaling innovations for development

In July 2021, J-PAL Europe, in partnership with the French Development Agency (AFD), hosted a seven-day summer school under the theme of “Innovations for Development,'' designed around the recent launch of France’s Fund for Innovation in Development (FID).
A group of people participating in an impact evaluation training discuss lessons while sitting at a table.

J-PAL South Asia launches Indian Scholars Program to strengthen ties with India-based researchers

J-PAL South Asia’s new Indian Scholars Program (ISP) will provide research funding, training, and networking opportunities for researchers and academics in India to further expand its network of researchers leading rigorous, policy-relevant randomized evaluations in the country.
Women in Debanandapur, West Bengal, India sitting on the ground while sewing and ironing garments.

Training gender practitioners in South Asia in strategies to measure gender outcomes

The Centers for Learning on Evaluation and Results, hosted at J-PAL South Asia, conducted a five-day online workshop on Applying a Gender Lens to Program Evaluation in February 2021. This workshop covered content on the measurement of gender outcomes, such as gender norms, agency, attitudes...
A woman sits at a desk with a notepad and laptop computer.

Breaking down the gender gap in the DEDP MicroMasters Program

Despite the MicroMasters' broad access and reduced barriers to entry, women enroll in the program at half the rate of men. Conditional on enrolling, women are also less likely to complete the MicroMasters program than men. The difference in enrollment prompted us to take a deeper look into where...