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 success of interventions aiming to encourage pro-social behavior is often measured by how the interventions affect behavior rather than how they affect welfare. We propose a natural field experiment to measure the welfare effects of one especially policy-relevant intervention, home energy conservation reports. Consumer surplus can be measured by sending consumers introductory reports and offering them the chance to continue the program at a randomly assigned price. The experimental design also allows us to estimate negative willingness-to-pay and address non-response bias. This experiment would help make the important point that the welfare effects of non-price “nudge” interventions can be measured, and policy makers should strongly consider the welfare effects of such interventions, not just their effects on behavior.