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 research, policy, and training work is fundamentally better when it is informed by a broad range of perspectives.
The energy sector in low-and-middle-income countries is characterized by high rates of particulate and carbon emissions per unit of electricity generated and low electricity reliability. To reduce air pollution levels and increase reliability, utilities have been, amongst other programs, encouraging urban households to conserve energy and reduce electricity use. Vietnam has been at the forefront of exploring innovative strategies to achieve cost-effective energy conservation. In the summer of 2023, researchers partnered with the utility in Hanoi (EVN) to conduct an experimental evaluation of contests and contracts for energy conservation. The researchers found both strategies delivered similar levels of energy conservation but that contests were nearly twice as cost-effective. Building on this ongoing partnership with EVN Hanoi, the research team is conducting follow-up experiments that test the ability of contests to scale within budgetary constraints and over longer time horizons. The proposed strategies may help to conserve energy in the summer months, thereby reducing particulate and carbon emissions as well as outages.