April 2018 Newsletter
Can summer jobs reduce crime?
Every day in the United States, more than 150 people die from acts of violence. Youth are twice as likely as adults to both commit and suffer from violent acts. J-PAL North America’s new policy Briefcase summarizes evidence from randomized evaluations of summer youth employment programs in Chicago and New York City, which provided minimum-wage summer jobs mainly to disadvantaged youth. Summer youth employment programs significantly reduced arrests for violent crimes, incarceration, and premature deaths. Read the full Briefcase »
Meet Our New J-PAL Affiliates
Four researchers recently joined J-PAL’s academic network: David Deming at Harvard University, Stefan Dercon at University of Oxford, Namrata Kala at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Patrizio Piraino at the University of Cape Town. Their varied research interests include technologies that help people adapt to environmental change, the determinants of socioeconomic disadvantage, and how to finance responses to natural disasters. Meet the new affiliates »
Letters of interest due April 13 for education technology competition
J-PAL North America’s new Education, Technology, and Opportunity Innovation Competition invites US education agencies, school networks, post-secondary institutions, and nonprofits to partner with J-PAL to evaluate their most promising technology-based education programs, particularly those aimed at improving learning for disadvantaged students. Applications are due on April 13. Learn more »
Featured Evaluation
Do government audits reduce corruption? Evidence from Brazil
Billions of dollars in government funds go missing each year due to corruption, but there is limited consensus on how best to tackle this global challenge.
J-PAL affiliated researchers Claudio Ferraz (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro) and Frederico Finan (University of California, Berkeley), along with Eric Avis, leveraged data from Brazil’s long-standing anticorruption program to evaluate whether government audits can effectively combat corruption. Government audits, aimed at uncovering the misuse of public resources, reduced corruption by promoting both electoral and judicial accountability. Read more »
Upcoming Trainings
June 11–15: Evaluating Social Programs, Cambridge, MA
J-PAL Global and J-PAL North America are offering a five-day Executive Education Course, “Evaluating Social Programs,” at MIT in Cambridge, MA, from June 11–15, 2018. In this course, participants learn how to design, implement, and use randomized evaluations. Participants typically include directors, managers, program officers, and researchers from governments, nonprofits, international development organizations, and foundations, as well as trained economists looking to retool. Learn more and apply by April 15 »
Media Highlights
Why is it so hard to talk about money?
Scientific American
To help students, start by informing parents [Video]
Chicago Booth Review
What to expect when a college assigns students to random roommates
The Conversation
Does providing electricity to the poor reduce poverty? Research suggests not quite
Forbes
Conference advances use of data and evaluation in policymaking
MIT News
New Research Papers
Failure of Frequent Assessment: An Evaluation of India’s Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation Program
James Berry, Harini Kannan, Shobhini Mukherji, and Marc Shotland
When the Money Runs Out: Do Cash Transfers Have Sustained Effects on Human Capital Accumulation?
Sarah Baird, Craig McIntosh, and Berk Özler
The Impact of Financial Education for Youth in Ghana
James Berry, Dean Karlan, and Menno Pradhan
Identity in Charitable Giving
Judd Kessler and Katherine Milkman
Productivity in Piece-Rate Labor Markets: Evidence from Rural Malawi
Raymond Guiteras and Kelsey Jack
Featured Jobs
Associate Director (Education), J-PAL Global (Cambridge, MA, US)
Postdoctoral Associate (Education), J-PAL Global (Cambridge, MA, US)
Postdoctoral Associate (Research), J-PAL Global (Cambridge, MA, US)
Human Resources Manager, J-PAL Global (Cambridge, MA, US)
Training Associate, J-PAL North America (Cambridge, MA, US)
Evaluation Manager, J-PAL Latin America & the Caribbean (Quito, Ecuador)
Explore open positions around the world »
Please Share Your Feedback
Take a short anonymous survey to help the J-PAL newsletter team assess how the newsletter can better serve your interests. The survey should take no more than five minutes to complete.