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.
This project will be the largest randomized control trial of homelessness prevention services to date and will compare two different approaches to homelessness prevention. We will use a lottery to measure the effectiveness of (1) a combined program of progressive case management and flexible financial assistance relative to (2) only flexible financial assistance. This project will be conducted in the context of the Youth and Family Homelessness Prevention Initiative (YFHPI) in King County, Washington, where lawmakers are interested in assessing the effectiveness of the program's case management component. The results of this study will also be informative to policymakers and service providers in other communities that are interested in the most effective means of homelessness prevention. Enrollment began in May of 2018 and will continue until we have enrolled 600 participants. Our primary outcomes will be measures of housing stability including indicators of homelessness and changes in address; secondary outcomes may include family welfare, criminal justice, and employment outcomes.