The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,000 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,000 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
Our affiliated professors are based at over 120 universities and conduct randomized evaluations around the world to design, evaluate, and improve programs and policies aimed at reducing poverty. They set their own research agendas, raise funds to support their evaluations, and work with J-PAL staff on research, policy outreach, and training.
Our Board of Directors, which is composed of J-PAL affiliated professors and senior management, provides overall strategic guidance to J-PAL, our sector programs, and regional offices.
J-PAL recognizes that there is a lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of economics and in our field of work. Read about what actions we are taking to address this.
We host events around the world and online to share results and policy lessons from randomized evaluations, to build new partnerships between researchers and practitioners, and to train organizations on how to design and conduct randomized evaluations, and use evidence from impact evaluations.
Browse news articles about J-PAL and our affiliated professors, read our press releases and monthly global and research newsletters, and connect with us for media inquiries.
Based at leading universities around the world, our experts are economists who use randomized evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty. Connect with us for all media inquiries and we'll help you find the right person to shed insight on your story.
J-PAL is based at MIT in Cambridge, MA and has seven regional offices at leading universities in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
J-PAL is based at MIT in Cambridge, MA and has seven regional offices at leading universities in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Our global office is based at the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It serves as the head office for our network of seven independent regional offices.
Led by affiliated professors, J-PAL sectors guide our research and policy work by conducting literature reviews; by managing research initiatives that promote the rigorous evaluation of innovative interventions by affiliates; and by summarizing findings and lessons from randomized evaluations and producing cost-effectiveness analyses to help inform relevant policy debates.
Led by affiliated professors, J-PAL sectors guide our research and policy work by conducting literature reviews; by managing research initiatives that promote the rigorous evaluation of innovative interventions by affiliates; and by summarizing findings and lessons from randomized evaluations and producing cost-effectiveness analyses to help inform relevant policy debates.
How do policies affecting private sector firms impact productivity gaps between higher-income and lower-income countries? How do firms’ own policies impact economic growth and worker welfare?
How can we identify effective policies and programs in low- and middle-income countries that provide financial assistance to low-income families, insuring against shocks and breaking poverty traps?
To celebrate fifteen years of J-PAL’s Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) office, we launched a new blog series titled “J-PAL LAC at 15.” In this third installment, we feature the Jobs and Opportunity Initiative Brazil (JOI Brazil), an important step in our commitment to addressing Brazil’s...
The need for more financing is one of the biggest barriers to small- and medium-sized enterprises’ growth. Microcredit programs can help entrepreneurs overcome financial constraints, providing access to resources to boost the growth of small businesses and alleviate poverty by increasing income...
More than two million students are enrolled in Egypt's technical education and vocational training education system, most of them from low-income backgrounds, seeking better livelihoods through skills attainment and the search for jobs in the labor market. These students are the constituents of our...
2024 marks the third anniversary of the Jobs and Opportunities Initiative Brazil (JOI Brazil). In this blog, we share what JOI Brazil has accomplished so far—and what we hope to accomplish in the coming years.
With the generous support of the Cotopaxi Foundation , J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean (J-PAL LAC) just launched a project that aims to improve livelihoods in Central America. The project, “Strengthening Livelihoods in Central America Through Evidence Use,” will share evidence, strengthen...
This is the fifth post of J-PAL’s 20 for 20: Partner Voices blog series, where we showcase stories of results and impact with our partners to celebrate our twentieth anniversary. Read on to learn more about Vivianne Naigeborin, Executive Director of the Arymax Foundation, and her experience...
In this spotlight, we speak with Nneka Esther Osadolor, a PhD candidate in economics at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Nneka’s primary research interests are broadly in development economics and applied microeconomics, including labor markets, financial inclusion, poverty, inequality, and gender...
In this Evidence Champion series, J-PAL North America is recognizing individuals in our network who have made extraordinary contributions to the field of evidence-based policymakin g. This piece features the work of Gustavo J. Bobonis , our inaugural researcher recipient. Gustavo is a professor of...