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.
In collaboration with the Kenyan Ministry of Health (MoH), the program will implement a coupon program for free dilute chlorine embedded in the government health system. The program builds on evidence generated by previous randomized evaluations that estimated the impact of similar programs, but where coupons were delivered by researchers and redeemed at local shops (Dupas et al. 2016 and 2021 [forthcoming]). Related work by the investigators in Kenya and Malawi showed that providing vouchers in place of free distribution maintained keeping most of the benefits of free distribution while reducing wastage, improving cost effectiveness. The project team aims to (1) test the feasibility of the coupon program embedded in the government health system, at scale, in Kenya, and in other countries; (2) provide estimated intermediate impacts, including on chlorine usage, diarrhea, and healthcare utilization, and (3) conduct a large-scale RCT to rigorously estimate impacts on child mortality. The program will train government health workers to provide every pregnant woman and woman with children under age 5 who visit health facilities for routine health care with coupons for free water treatment solution. The coupons will be redeemable at the health facilities, whose procurement system will be adapted accordingly.