Conformado por una red de más de 1,000 investigadoras e investigadores afiliados en universidades de todo el mundo, J-PAL realiza evaluaciones de impacto aleatorizadas para responder preguntas críticas en la lucha contra la pobreza.
Investigación
Generamos evidencia rigurosa de qué funciona y qué no funciona. Nuestros profesores afiliados realizan evaluaciones aleatorizadas para probar y mejorar la eficacia de programas y políticas sociales.
Políticas Públicas
Promovemos que la evidencia proveniente de las evaluaciones de impacto, incida en las decisiones de política pública y programas sociales, analizando y difundiendo los resultados de las investigaciones y estableciendo acuerdos estratégicos con Gobiernos, Organismos Multilaterales, Fundaciones y ONGs, entre otros socios.
Capacitación
Desarrollamos capacidades en los tomadores de decisiones, sobre cómo usar y generar evidencia rigurosa proveniente de evaluaciones de impacto, para diseñar e implementar programas y políticas que realmente funcionen.
J-PAL fue nombrado en honor a Abdul Latif Jameel, padre del ex-alumno de MIT, Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, quien nos ha apoyado desde el 2005 a través de la donación de tres fondos basales.
Past reports
2023-24
The 2023-24 edition of “Improving Lives Through Evidence” is a call to action for urgent collaboration to achieve a shared vision for a better world. Instead of despairing at the size and stickiness of our problems, we must proactively collaborate on designing innovative solutions, rigorously testing them, and then working carefully to scale them up.
2022-23
As we enter J-PAL’s third decade, there is no shortage of challenges: Climate change, humanitarian crises, persistent bias and discrimination, and lagging early childhood development are all sobering reminders of how much urgent work there is still to do.
2021-22
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt people’s lives and communities across the world. Evidence-informed policymaking is key to ensuring that the most vulnerable are able to adapt. In the 2021-22 edition of "Improving Lives Through Evidence," learn how we forged partnerships for more equitable and evidence-informed policies in 2021, and how we will build on our vision in the new year.
2020-21
Last year brought new challenges and demanded innovative solutions. Read how our research, policy, and capacity building work evolved to adapt to lockdowns and meet new evidence needs in the 2020-21 edition of “Improving Lives Through Evidence."
2019-20
We launched many exciting initiatives to expand the frontiers of research and evidence-informed policy, and our existing research initiatives contributed funding to help launch 56 new randomized evaluations that test the most effective approaches to fighting poverty. We grew our online MicroMasters program and admitted the first class of students in our new Master’s in Data, Economics, and Development Policy at MIT. And we welcomed 20 top researchers to our affiliate network, while growing our talented team of research, policy, training, and operations staff worldwide.
2019 was also notable for an exceptional reason: J-PAL co-founders Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo and our longtime affiliate Michael Kremer were awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.
History
The Poverty Action Lab was founded in 2003 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by professors Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Sendhil Mullainathan, with the goal of transforming how the world approaches the challenges of global poverty.
In 2005, the lab partnered with Community Jameel, an independent, global organization advancing science to help communities thrive in a rapidly changing world. Following the partnership, the lab was renamed the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) in honor of the late Abdul Latif Jameel, the founder of Abdul Latif Jameel and father of MIT alumnus and founder and chairman of Community Jameel, Mohammed Jameel KBE.
Today, J-PAL’s core staff includes more than 400 research, policy, education, and training professionals across seven offices worldwide.
J-PAL co-founders Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, with longtime affiliate Michael Kremer, were awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics for their pioneering approach to alleviating global poverty. In their announcement, the Nobel Committee noted, "The research conducted by this year’s Laureates has considerably improved our ability to fight global poverty. In just two decades, their new experiment-based approach has transformed development economics, which is now a flourishing field of research."
Our work is generously supported by visionary foundations, governments, and individuals. Major donors include Arnold Ventures, Co-Impact, Community Jameel, The Gates Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, King Philanthropies, The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, The Target Foundation, The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, The National Institutes of Health, and UK International Development.
Timeline
J-PAL and MIT Economics partner to launch the MicroMasters in Data, Economics and Development Policy (subsequently renamed Data, Economics, and Design of Policy), which offers learners from around the world the opportunity to take rigorous online classes in development economics. With the goal of empowering young professionals to hone their technical skills, the program reached over 10,000 learners from more than 180 countries in 2017 alone.
J-PAL launches three research initiatives to generate new randomized evaluations that focus on open questions relevant to policymakers: the Cash Transfers for Child Health Initiative, based at J-PAL South Asia; the Skills for Youth Program, based at J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean; and the Crime and Violence Initiative. DFID awards J-PAL and IPA US$16 million to support innovative research in governance, crime, and conflict.
The Zambian Ministry of General Education commits to scaling up the evidence-backed Teaching at the Right Level approach to 1,800 schools in the country over the next three years, with support from the USAID Zambia Mission and USAID Development Innovation Ventures, and pilot funding provided by J-PAL's Government Partnership Initiative.
J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean partners with Brazil's National School of Public Administration (ENAP) to develop and launch the first-ever massive open online course on impact evaluation to be offered in Portuguese. The course is an adaptation of J-PAL's flagship executive education course, Evaluating Social Programs, and will be included as a regular ENAP course offering, reaching 80,000 public officials every year. Funding for the course's development and launch was provided by J-PAL’s Government Partnership Initiative.
Former Executive Director Rachel Glennerster takes leave to serve as Chief Economist at the UK Department for International Development.
J-PAL's research network grows to include 159 affiliated professors and 140 invited researchers.
Timeline
J-PAL and MIT Economics partner to launch the MicroMasters in Data, Economics and Development Policy (subsequently renamed Data, Economics, and Design of Policy), which offers learners from around the world the opportunity to take rigorous online classes in development economics. With the goal of empowering young professionals to hone their technical skills, the program reached over 10,000 learners from more than 180 countries in 2017 alone.
J-PAL launches three research initiatives to generate new randomized evaluations that focus on open questions relevant to policymakers: the Cash Transfers for Child Health Initiative, based at J-PAL South Asia; the Skills for Youth Program, based at J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean; and the Crime and Violence Initiative. DFID awards J-PAL and IPA US$16 million to support innovative research in governance, crime, and conflict.
The Zambian Ministry of General Education commits to scaling up the evidence-backed Teaching at the Right Level approach to 1,800 schools in the country over the next three years, with support from the USAID Zambia Mission and USAID Development Innovation Ventures, and pilot funding provided by J-PAL's Government Partnership Initiative.
J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean partners with Brazil's National School of Public Administration (ENAP) to develop and launch the first-ever massive open online course on impact evaluation to be offered in Portuguese. The course is an adaptation of J-PAL's flagship executive education course, Evaluating Social Programs, and will be included as a regular ENAP course offering, reaching 80,000 public officials every year. Funding for the course's development and launch was provided by J-PAL’s Government Partnership Initiative.
Former Executive Director Rachel Glennerster takes leave to serve as Chief Economist at the UK Department for International Development.
J-PAL's research network grows to include 159 affiliated professors and 140 invited researchers.