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 1,100 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 1,100 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 130 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.
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?
J-PAL LAC is a non-profit research center that aims to reduce global poverty by generating rigorous scientific evidence on which social programs and policies can make a real difference in people's lives. Formed by a network of academics worldwide, J-PAL measures the impact of programs with...
The ASPIRE Fellows program offers young professionals with two to five years of experience the opportunity to work with J-PAL South Asia’s network of researchers, government partners and civil society organizations, embedding evidence-based approaches at scale within government systems.
Anoud Ehab is a Policy Associate at J-PAL MENA, where she supports the Humanitarian Action Portfolio by fostering partnerships with relevant stakeholders and promoting the use of evidence to inform the design and implementation of social programs across the MENA region.
Reham Rizk serves as the Director of the Egypt Impact Lab (EIL), a collaborative initiative between J-PAL Middle East and North Africa and the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development. This innovative partnership aims to strengthen poverty reduction policies by rigorously evaluating promising...
Aya Essam is a senior policy, communications and learning associate at Egypt Impact Lab (EIL). The EIL is a partnership between J-PAL Middle East and North Africa and the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation in Egypt. EIL is uniquely positioned within the...
Impact evaluations aim to answer a fundamental question: What is the causal impact of a program on an outcome of interest? To answer this, we need to try to understand what would have happened to program participants in the absence of the program.
Researchers are studying programs like policing reforms, justice provisions, peacebuilding programs, and more. Over two decades, they’ve built a growing body of evidence on programs that work, and the conditions that maximize their potential.
Attaullah Abbasi is a Senior AI Policy Associate at J-PAL Global, where he supports efforts to maximize the social benefits of artificial intelligence and assess its potential risks and unintended consequences. As a member of the Policy and Communications group, Attaullah works with partners...
Aakriti Kalra Bhandari is a Senior Research Manager at J-PAL South Asia. In this role, she leads the research and evaluation agenda for the Implementation Science Lab in Education in collaboration with the What Works Hub for Global Education.