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?
We host events around the world and online to share results and policy lessons from randomized evaluations, build new partnerships between researchers and practitioners, and train organizations on how to design and conduct randomized evaluations.
Applications are now open for a four-day randomized evaluation design workshop as part of the Displaced Livelihoods Initiative (DLI) and the Humanitarian Protection Initiative (HPI) to develop projects in the Sub-Saharan Africa organised by J-PAL and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA).
As part of the "Development Methodologies" Chair held by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, a summer school for African researchers, project leaders and other partners will be organised from July 7 to 11, 2025 in Dakar, on the campus of the African Center for Higher Studies in Management (CESAG).
Join J-PAL Southeast Asia for a webinar to launch the Inclusive Financial Innovation Initiative (IFII). To kick off this learning collaborative, key findings from the initiative's whitepaper will be shared to inform digital financial services (DFS) stakeholders and policy decisions.
This second training event led by the Morocco Employment Lab (MEL) aimed at explaining the Smart Policy Design and Implementation (SPDI) framework for rigorous evaluation applied to labor policy in Morocco.
Please join us for the upcoming Global Evidence for Egypt spotlight webinar, “What does global evidence tell us about social assistance response to large external shocks in Egypt?" The webinar will focus on what global evidence tells us about social assistance that responds to covariate shocks.
Join the webinar series hosted by the IDEA Initiative on Mondays at 11am EDT during the Fall 2020 semester, starting on 9/28/2020. In this series the authors of the Handbook on Using Administrative Data for Research and Evidence-Based Policy will present case studies on successful administrative...
Amid COVID-19, a “shadow pandemic” of gender-based violence (GBV) has emerged, with some recent data showing increases in reports of GBV across the world. This webinar will explore policy questions and research insights to help practitioners prevent and address GBV during the pandemic.
J-PAL Southeast Asia’s Scientific Directors Rema Hanna and Benjamin A. Olken will present evidence-based insights on how to strengthen safety nets to protect the poor during COVID-19. The webinar will also feature Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Finance to discuss how lessons from evidence presented...
J-PAL South Asia is excited to present COVIDialogues, a webinar series in which leading J-PAL-affiliated researchers respond with evidence to COVID-19’s most critical policy questions. The first COVIDialogue, which features Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, J...