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.
Starting about five years ago in Indonesia, instead of rice bags, the poor were sent debit cards to buy the equivalent amount of food at local neighborhood shops. Suddenly millions of Indonesians in the program started receiving the total amount of food intended for them 81 percent of the time...
Considering the encouraging results of a pilot project of Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) in Surat, the Gujarat government is going to replicate the same scheme in Ahmedabad in two-phases. It is being implemented in collaboration with researchers of Chicago University, Yale University and Abdul Latif...
J-PAL MENA's February newsletter features remarks from Executive Director, Alison Fahey, and updates on evidence-informed policy making and what staff have been working on.
Two champions of high-dosage tutoring—one a researcher and the other a superintendent — share their expertise and experience on high-dosage tutoring in a virtual forum.
Attending preschool at age 4 makes children significantly more likely to go to college, according to an empirical study led by an MIT economist. The study examines children who attended public preschools in Boston from 1997 to 2003. It finds that among students of similar backgrounds, attendance at...
Nearly a decade of research by noted economist Karthik Muralidharan and action-oriented interventions by the NGO Pratham offers useful insights into solving the learning crisis through reforms in pedagogy and governance. For successful implementation of these reforms, multiple stakeholders...
The February 2023 Newsletter features our 20th-anniversary edition of “Improving Lives Through Evidence," which showcases how our work has evolved over the years, the launch of the Learning for All Initiative (LAI), and an affiliate spotlight on Monica Martinez-Bravo.
Harvard economist Raj Chetty focuses on economic inequality and social mobility: the ability of each generation of a family to enjoy a quality of life better than the previous one. Multiple studies have found that the U.S. is one of the world’s least socially mobile countries. Through his work...