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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 collage of headshots of the researchers

Advancing agricultural transformation through locally-led research

The UM6P-J-PAL Applied Lab for Agirculture (UJALA) announced its first cohort of UJALA African Scholars.
Students before classes at a primary school in the village of El Arr in northern Sudan

Building girls’ agency at scale: Lessons from life skills programs in Africa

Last year, J-PAL published a policy brief and implementation guide synthesizing evidence from sixteen randomized evaluations of life skills programs for adolescent girls. The findings show that such approaches can be particularly effective in boosting self-efficacy (confidence in achieving certain...
Dr. Oluwaremilekun Adebisi

African Scholar Spotlight: Oluwaremilekun Adebisi

Through our African Scholars Program, we hope to help create more opportunities for African researchers to advance the research agenda on the continent through randomized evaluations. In this spotlight, we speak with Oluwaremilekun Adebisi of the University of Ilorin in Nigeria.
PhD students and faculty gather to mark the launch of the UM6P-J-PAL Applied Lab for Agriculture’s African Scholars Program

Creating partnership opportunities for early-career researchers in Africa

On September 17, 2025, the UM6P-J-PAL Applied Lab for Agriculture (UJALA) unveiled its new African Scholars Program at the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P)’s campus in Rabat. The program will support early‑career African researchers to become leaders in rigorous, policy‑relevant randomized...
headshot of Abdul-Basi

African Scholar Spotlight: Abdul-Basit Tampuli Abukari

This post is part of our ongoing series showcasing the work and perspectives of economists from the African continent who are leading randomized evaluations. Through our African Scholars Program, we hope to help create more opportunities for African researchers to advance the research agenda on the...
Lazare Kovo

African Scholar Spotlight: Lazare Kovo

We speak with Solomon Lazare Kovo from Emory University about how growing up in Benin shaped his passion for development economics. He explains how rigorous impact evaluations can help answer big policy questions, especially on gender gaps, learning, and employment.
A woman uses a chlorine water treatment product to treat drinking water at home in the village of Kawejah, Grand Cape Mount county, Liberia on Friday April 6, 2012.

Scaling safe water access: J-PAL Africa's new Portfolio

J-PAL Africa has launched a new policy portfolio, Scaling Access to Safe Water in Africa (SASWA), designed to support governments in integrating and scaling water treatment programs.
Woman giving numeracy books on International Literacy Day in Mozambique

Affiliate Spotlight: Selim Gulesci on addressing gender-based violence in Mozambican schools

In May 2025, J-PAL Africa invited LinkedIn readers to submit questions about a recent randomized evaluation on preventing gender-based violence in Mozambican schools, coauthored by J-PAL affiliated researcher Selim Gulesci. In this blog post, Selim responds to five questions from readers, sharing...