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 900 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 Board of Directors, which is composed of J-PAL affiliated professors and senior management, provides overall strategic guidance to J-PAL, our sector programs, and regional offices.
J-PAL recognizes that there is a lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of economics and in our field of work. Read about what actions we are taking to address this.
We host events around the world and online to share results and policy lessons from randomized evaluations, to build new partnerships between researchers and practitioners, and to train organizations on how to design and conduct randomized evaluations, and use evidence from impact evaluations.
Browse news articles about J-PAL and our affiliated professors, read our press releases and monthly global and research newsletters, and connect with us for media inquiries.
Based at leading universities around the world, our experts are economists who use randomized evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty. Connect with us for all media inquiries and we'll help you find the right person to shed insight on your story.
J-PAL is based at MIT in Cambridge, MA and has seven regional offices at leading universities in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
J-PAL is based at MIT in Cambridge, MA and has seven regional offices at leading universities in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Our global office is based at the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It serves as the head office for our network of seven independent regional offices.
Led by affiliated professors, J-PAL sectors guide our research and policy work by conducting literature reviews; by managing research initiatives that promote the rigorous evaluation of innovative interventions by affiliates; and by summarizing findings and lessons from randomized evaluations and producing cost-effectiveness analyses to help inform relevant policy debates.
Led by affiliated professors, J-PAL sectors guide our research and policy work by conducting literature reviews; by managing research initiatives that promote the rigorous evaluation of innovative interventions by affiliates; and by summarizing findings and lessons from randomized evaluations and producing cost-effectiveness analyses to help inform relevant policy debates.
How do policies affecting private sector firms impact productivity gaps between higher-income and lower-income countries? How do firms’ own policies impact economic growth and worker welfare?
How can we identify effective policies and programs in low- and middle-income countries that provide financial assistance to low-income families, insuring against shocks and breaking poverty traps?
Browse news articles about J-PAL and our affiliated professors, and read our press releases and monthly global and research newsletters. For media inquiries, please email us.
In an opinion's piece, J-PAL co-founder Abhijit Banerjee writes about the importance of getting in the "feasting mind-set" for the holidays and the history and stigma around food stamps.
As the keynote speaker at the African Development Bank’s 2021 Kofi Annan Eminent Speaker Lecture Series., Esther Duflo, J-PAL co-founder and Nobel Laureate, discussed the urgent need for global cooperation in changing behaviors that contribute to climate change and inequitable vaccine distribution.
Mary Ann Bates, former executive director of J-PAL North America, was appointed as the first director of the California Cradle-to-Career Data System. While at J-PAL, Bates launched and co-chaired the J-PAL State and Local Innovation Initiative, which brings state and local governments and academic...
The article provides an overview of the previous work Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, J-PAL cofounders, and J-PAL affiliate Michael Kremer did that led them to earning the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
Abhijit Banerjee, J-PAL co-founder, discussed the findings of a paper he co-authored that was recently published in the American Economic Review. Esther Duflo, J-PAL co-founder, and Garima Sharma also contributed to the article, which was based on a randomized evaluation conducted in India to assess...
J-PAL North America's December newsletter features five new state and local government partners, research results from a study on financial incentives for Covid-19 vaccine uptake, and a case study on the Office of Evaluation Sciences's work to institutionalize evidence use across federal government...
The findings and implications of J-PAL affiliates Sara Heller and Judd Kessler's randomized evaluation on how letters of recommendation help non-white youth are discussed.
In the December 2021 Newsletter, we highlight the creation of youth employment opportunities in South Africa in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, evaluate how school closures have affected children in Latin America, and highlight our affiliate Seema Jaychandran's work in tackling gender inequity.