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.
Particulate matter (PM) pollution presents a substantial threat to human health, disproportionately impacting low-income populations. Heavy-duty trucks are major sources of PM but enforcing truck emissions regulations has proven prohibitively costly. We propose utilizing novel remote sensing technology to detect high-emitting trucks at low cost. We are partnering with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), an air quality regulator, to leverage this technology in two complementary randomized trials to measure its impact on regulatory compliance, emissions, emissions leakage, and enforcement costs, which will enable us to identify the most cost-effective approach to regulatory enforcement.