J-PAL LAC 2023 Year Recap Newsletter

Celebrating two decades of alleviating poverty through scientific evidence 

For twenty years, J-PAL has been dedicated to reducing poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Since its founding, J-PAL has grown to a network of over 900 researchers worldwide who have contributed to 1,800 randomized evaluations, which have informed the design of social policies and programs that have reached more than 600 million people around the world. J-PAL has also advanced its mission through courses and trainings for current and aspiring researchers and policymakers, building a cadre of professionals equipped with the tools to alleviate poverty through scientific evidence.

J-PAL established its office in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in 2009 at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC Chile). To celebrate J-PAL's 20th anniversary, we organized two events in Brazil and Chile. The gatherings brought together former and current J-PAL LAC staff, researchers in the J-PAL network, and teams from our hosting universities, UC Chile and Insper. We reconnected, shared some of the most notable advances made in the region in recent years, and discussed the role of evidence in alleviating poverty and addressing common challenges on a global scale.  

In this newsletter, we're highlighting J-PAL LAC's accomplishments in the last year in using evidence to advance poverty alleviation. Read on to learn more, and watch a video about J-PAL LAC's work »

FEATURED MILESTONES

Eight new potential partnerships with governments in Brazil and Mexico

Since its inception, J-PAL LAC has been collaborating with governments to implement evidence-informed public policies, being successful in different endeavors such as creating a dedicated unit to identify, test, and scale low-cost interventions to improve educational outcomes in the Peruvian Ministry of Education. 

In 2023, J-PAL LAC announced a selection process for new collaborations with governments in Brazil and Mexico to promote a culture of generating and using rigorous evidence, with a focus on policies that could reduce gender and racial inequalities. In less than a year, over sixty organizations attended introductory training sessions on randomized evaluations, which have helped us identify promising commitments in both countries. Learn more »

Strengthening capacity for evidence generation in early childhood development in Guatemala

In 2023, J-PAL LAC partnered with Universidad del Valle de Guatemala to promote the use and generation of evidence in the design of public policies and social programs in Guatemala. As a first step, they launched the Programa de Sondeo y Arranque (PROSA) to strengthen research and programs with potential impact on early childhood development in the country. A key function of PROSA is to identify programs, specifically those focusing on early stimulation, nutrition, and health interventions, to evaluate their impact on the development of children 0 to 6 years old. In addition to this evaluative role, PROSA is actively disseminating evidence about these interventions. The program is already helping to strengthen the use of evidence in twenty organizations working on early childhood development through training and other activities. Learn more about PROSA »

JOI Brazil has funded thirteen studies addressing pressing challenges in the Brazilian labor market

In 2021, J-PAL LAC launched the Jobs and Opportunity Initiative (JOI) Brazil to generate robust evidence on public policies and programs addressing the most pressing challenges of the labor market in the country. JOI Brazil currently funds thirteen studies in seven Brazilian states: six randomized evaluations, six exploratory studies, and one pilot study. They focus on issues such as workplace safety, labor market discrimination, improving the conditions of domestic workers, technical and vocational education, and other pressing and timely issues.

By strengthening and promoting innovative and rigorous research, JOI Brazil aims to deepen the debate on the labor market in the country and disseminate the knowledge generated by researchers to governments, civil society organizations, the private sector, and foundations. Learn more in an interview with Vivianne Naigeborin, executive director of the Arymax Foundation, on her collaborations with JOI Brazil »

CLEAR center for Latin America and the Caribbean to be established at the Catholic University of Chile

The Center for Learning in Evaluation and Results for Latin America and the Caribbean (CLEAR-LAC), set to start operations in 2024, will be housed at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (UC Chile). CLEAR-LAC is endorsed by the Global Evaluation Initiative, with the support of the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank and the Independent Evaluation Office of the United Nations Development Program. It will be one of seven centers around the world collaborating to support the strengthening of national monitoring and evaluation systems and promote the use of evidence in decision-making. To ensure its success, CLEAR-LAC will be supported within UC Chile by the Public Policy Center, Mide UC, and J-PAL LAC. Read more in English and Spanish »

FEATURED QUOTE

"When J-PAL LAC began operating, we expected that in ten years at least fifteen articles by J-PAL affiliated professors would published in top journals. Now, in 2023, this objective has been more than met.”
 
—Francisco Gallego, Co-Scientific Director, J-PAL LAC

Ensuring evidence-informed decision-making

Since J-PAL LAC’s inception, we have focused on producing high-quality research published in top journals. To date, there are more than fifty research articles focusing on the LAC region by professors in the J-PAL network published in high-level academic journals worldwide. They provide valuable lessons from evidence to inform social policies and programs in LAC. Discover more about evaluations in LAC on the evaluation summaries web page »