Blog

Without significant efforts to improve preschool quality, expanding access alone risks doing little to improve child development and school readiness.

Smallholder farmers across Africa face multiple, interconnected constraints, including access to appropriate inputs and information, limited availability of affordable credit, long distances to input suppliers and buyers, and difficulty finding reliable markets for their crops.

As governments face multiple economic, political, and environmental constraints, it may be tempting to turn to new technologies or shiny silver bullets to deliver results. But here is what we know: lasting climate resilience won’t come from a new AI tool or financing on its own. Because without...

Researchers are studying programs like policing reforms, justice provisions, peacebuilding programs, and more. Over two decades, they’ve built a growing body of evidence on programs that work, and the conditions that maximize their potential.

Cash transfers such as minimum incomes, grants, universal basic incomes or food stamps, are a common tool to alleviate poverty. Working with governments, J-PAL researchers are exploring whether combining these transfers with additional resources can help people make better use of cash assistance and...

One common way that governments and development funders try to promote business growth and job creation is to help businesses produce more, including by giving them credit and training. This can be useful, but only a little and for some. Why? Part of the answer is because most firms are not just...

In recent years, RCTs and other rigorous impact evaluations have gained momentum in contexts previously believed to be unnecessary in urgent crises, or even unethical or impossible in resource-constrained environments that can change overnight. In this blog, we explore how we can keep momentum going...

This International Women’s Day, we are highlighting stories of evidence-informed programs transforming the lives of women and girls globally. We hope that as you read, you see how crucial rigorous research is to each of these examples, and are inspired to put evidence at the center of your own...