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

High school girls in Accra, Ghana posing for the camera in their graduation uniforms.

Investing in girls' education? Top 3 lessons from the evidence

How can governments, donors and implementing partners decide on where to invest to improve girls’ enrollment? Global evidence on effective interventions can be a great place to start. J-PAL Africa highlight three key lessons everyone should keep in mind on keeping girls in school.
students sit at desks inside a classroom working on an assignment

Affiliate Spotlight: Michela Carlana

Michela Carlana is an assistant professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. From researching the subtle role of bias and motivation in student outcomes to rapidly launching and evaluating scalable programs to combat learning loss, Michela’s work reflects a commitment to reducing...
teacher and students learning outdoors during the covid-19 pandemic

Learning to live with the pandemic, but not its terrible impact

In a blog post for the Center for Effective Philanthropy, J-PAL Global's Iqbal Dhaliwal and Ingrid Lustig reflect on new and deepened sectoral challenges that must be prioritized by the philanthropic community in this new phase of the pandemic.
Map showing the Western Balkans

How can insights from rigorous evidence inform policymaking in the Western Balkans?

This post highlights how rigorous impact evaluations can contribute to this broader reflection, including by examining interventions from neighboring countries outside the region facing similar challenges, such as migrant and refugee inclusion in Bulgaria and Turkey.
Adam Osman presents in front of a J-PAL MENA banner

Affiliate Spotlight: Adam Osman

Adam Osman is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Co-Scientific Director at J-PAL Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Adam’s work using randomized evaluations to test theories about improving the lives of the poor serves to fill the gap in...
Two kindergarten children stand in front of a blackboard, smiling.

Foundations for student success: Focusing on functional literacy and numeracy

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To support education systems to focus on functional literacy and numeracy, UNICEF is partnering with The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL at MIT), Pratham, and Delivery Associates.
A young girl wearing headphones sits in front of a laptop with notebooks beside her

Q&A with affiliate Michela Carlana on an online tutoring program to address Covid-19-induced educational inequalities

Following the shift to online instruction across Italian schools in March 2020, J-PAL affiliates Michela Carlana (Harvard University) and Eliana La Ferrara (Bocconi University) rapidly launched an online tutoring program to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds who were lagging behind during...
A woman wearing academic dress sits in front of a laptop and smiles at the photographer.

Pursuing evidence-based policymaking during crisis

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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.