Research Associate, Long-term effects of cash transfers to women Morocco Innovation and Evaluation Lab, Morocco - UM6P/J-PAL/CID

I- Job summary

A research team led by Pascaline Dupas from Princeton University, Florencia Devoto from Morocco Innovation and Evaluation Lab and University Mohammed VI Polytechnique, and Victor Pouliquen from the University of Essex, is seeking to recruit a Research Associate based in Morocco to work on a study measuring the long-term effects of targeting a cash transfer program on women. The Research Associate will work under the direct and regular supervision of the research team members.

This position will be based in the office of the Morocco Innovation and Evaluation lab (MEL), at the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic campus in Rabat, and will include regular field visits.

About the Morocco Innovation and Evaluation Lab (MEL)

The MEL is a collaboration between the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Harvard Center for International Development (CID). With the support of Community Jameel, the lab is expanding its work beyond employment into sectors such as education, social protection, firm growth, agriculture, and environment.

The MEL works in close collaboration with the public, private, NGO, and philanthropic sectors in Morocco to conduct evaluations that speak to their priorities and share rigorous evidence to inform their decisions.

About the research project

The Tayssir program is a cash transfer program for poor households, launched in 2008 by Morocco's Ministry of National Education. An impact evaluation conducted between 2008 and 2010 by JPAL, in partnership with the Ministry of National Education, the Higher Council for Education, and the World Bank, showed encouraging short-term positive effects on children's schooling.^[1] 

As part of this pilot evaluation, villages receiving the program were divided into two subgroups: one group of villages in which cash transfers were made to fathers and a group in which cash transfers were made to mothers. This randomization was maintained by the government of Morocco for the past 15 years, providing a unique opportunity to study the long-term impact of cash transfers to women.

The objective of this project is to measure the impact of this targeting using administrative data from the 1,200 schools involved in the pilot program and a household survey conducted in 540 Moroccan villages in 2025.

About the position

The position offers an opportunity to gain first-hand experience managing randomized controlled trials and implementing impact evaluations in a real-world policy setting. The position will build skills in data collection, management, analysis, and communication to inform evidence-based governance. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: designing and piloting survey questionnaires, managing survey teams, monitoring data collection, cleaning administrative data, analyzing preliminary results, coordinating with partners, and summarizing findings for policymakers.

Through exposure to all aspects of research production, the position will prepare the selected candidate for postgraduate studies in economics, public policy, or further impact evaluation roles. Former research assistants working with members of the study team have gone on to top Ph.D. and Masters Programs (Stanford, MIT, Princeton, Paris School of Economics, Oxford, LSE…) and to positions in organizations like JPAL, IPA, the World Bank, or IDInsight.

II- Key Responsibilities

The Research Associate is responsible for the supervision of the project and its successful implementation in the field, which includes:

• Contribute to the analysis of administrative data from the Ministry of Education to measure the program impact on schooling.
• Conduct a literature review on cash transfer programs and women empowerment policies.
• Design and pilot a questionnaire measuring the program’s effects on women’s empowerment, household consumption, intra-household relations, gender norms, and domestic violence. This work will require frequent travel to various regions of Morocco.
• Supervise the implementation of a household survey in 540 Moroccan municipalities. The survey will be conducted by a specialized survey firm under the direct supervision of the Research Associate. This supervision will include field visits to monitor surveyors as well as quality control of the collected data.
• Contribute to the household survey data analysis and draft results in the form of scientific articles and policy briefs in English and French.
• Participate in weekly calls with the research team.

He/she will also be responsible for ensuring good communication and organization on a daily basis:

• Facilitate, strengthen and maintain effective and efficient communication as the primary contact point with Principal Investigators.
• Provide periodic updates on project activities to PIs and subject experts
• Participate in the planning and design of any outreach activities
• Ensure that project activities are on schedule and prepare project update reports according to agreements with funders and partners.

III- Requirements

• A master’s degree in economics, public policy, or related fields including training in impact evaluation and econometrics (an undergraduate degree with some relevant professional experience can be considered).
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player.
• Interest in fieldwork (including qualitative research) and in academic research.
• Strong quantitative, organizational, and communication skills are necessary.
• Prior experience programming in R or Stata is necessary. 
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials or with managing a survey is a strong plus.
• Fluency in French or Darija is compulsory.
• Knowledge of English, Darija or Classical Arabic is a strong plus.

^[1] Benhassine, Najy, Devoto, Florencia, Duflo, Esther, Dupas, Pascaline and Pouliquen, Victor. 2015. “Turning a Shove into a Nudge? A "Labeled Cash Transfer" for Education” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 7(3).