Blog

News

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

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.
A hand holding a small card resting on top of a bag of rice and a bag of fruit.

The role of administrative data in improving social protection programs: A success story from Indonesia

Read about a collaboration between the Government of Indonesia and researchers to use government administrative data to evaluate some of the largest social programs in the country.
A laptop viewed from behind, with a hand positioned on the track pad.

Announcing the AEA RCT Registry’s new metadata repository

In 2013, J-PAL began a collaboration with the American Economic Association to create the AEA’s RCT Registry. Now, users can browse registry metadata with ease using monthly data snapshots uploaded to the Harvard Dataverse by J-PAL. These snapshot datasets let users access registry metadata, cite to...
A world map with dots noting locations of GCCI projects.

Pushing the boundaries of governance, crime, and conflict research: Innovations in research, measurement, and design

In 2017, J-PAL and IPA jointly launched the Governance, Crime, and Conflict Initiative to increase our understanding of effective policies to promote peace and good governance, reduce crime, and support individuals and communities recovering from conflict. With three years of research behind us, we...
Mock up image of the Handbook on Using Administrative Data for Research and Evidence-based Policy

Announcing the Handbook on Using Administrative Data for Research and Evidence-based Policy

The Innovations in Data and Experiments for Action Initiative (IDEA) is excited to announce the release of the Handbook on Using Administrative Data for Research and Evidence-Based Policy co-edited by Shawn Cole, Iqbal Dhaliwal, Anja Sautmann, and Lars Vilhuber.
A laptop computer screen displays J-PAL's research resources website.

Announcing J-PAL’s newly updated research resources

Structured around the lifecycle of a project, these research resources provide practical guidance on conducting RCTs and include templates, checklists, and concrete advice based on J-PAL’s deep experience implementing field research projects.
A woman in a mask sits typing on a laptop outside

Foundations of ethical and high-quality data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic

There have been many innovations in data collection methods over the past few months to adapt to contactless research. Many research organizations, including J-PAL, have shifted to data collection through phone surveys, as field activities remain halted. As we support and strengthen these...
A close up image of a man holding and looking at a smartphone

Resources for adapting to phone surveys during COVID-19

Over the past few months, we’ve developed new resources on transitioning to phone surveys, with guides that span from budgeting to remote trainings to quality assurance best practices. They are intended to complement our crowd-sourced best practices by providing in-depth guides that address...