March 2022 Newsletter
Highlighting evidence-informed ideas to improve gender equity in Latin America and the Caribbean
In recognition of International Women’s Day, J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean is launching a blog series centered on gender equality and barriers to achieving it. This series highlights examples of how evidence and collaborations between academia, governments, and civil society help overcome common challenges women face. The first post—published in Spanish and English—focuses on promising evidence-informed strategies to address intimate partner violence in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Behind the scenes of the Baby’s First Years study
In an interview with J-PAL North America, J-PAL affiliated professor Lisa Gennetian (Duke University) and researcher Kimberly Noble discuss recent results from Baby’s First Years, the first study to suggest a causal link between poverty reduction and infant brain activity. They reflect on the interdisciplinary nature of the study, policy implications of the early findings, and potential results to come from the study. Read the interview, and explore how qualitative research strengthened the study, including by providing a deeper understanding of mothers’ experiences and household compositions.
FEATURED POLICY INSIGHT
Identifying gender-specific barriers to learning
Interventions to improve learning may affect boys and girls differently, even if they are not targeted toward any particular gender. In a new Policy Insight, J-PAL’s Gender sector team summarized evidence from over fifty randomized evaluations examining how interventions to improve learning can have different impacts by gender. They found that, while most programs had similar impacts on girls and boys, aspects of program implementation sometimes prevented girls and boys from benefiting equally. Read more »
FEATURED PUBLICATION
Increasing employment and earnings through worker training programs
Wage inequality in the United States has skyrocketed in recent decades. To help more workers benefit from higher wages, how can barriers to high-opportunity employment be reduced? A new evidence review from J-PAL North America found that sectoral employment programs in the US increased worker employment and earnings, largely driven by workers gaining access to higher-wage and higher-quality jobs. Read the review »
Join J-PAL North America and WorkRise for a discussion of existing evidence and ongoing research on sectoral employment programs on Wednesday, March 9 at 2:30 pm ET. Register »
FEATURED EVALUATION SUMMARY
The impact of extending childcare on female labor in Chile
Childcare duties are often cited as one reason why labor force participation is typically lower for women than men. J-PAL affiliated professor Claudia Martínez (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) and coauthor Marcela Perticará partnered with the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity of Chile to measure the impact of providing free after-school care for children ages 6–13 on women’s participation in the labor market. They found that the program increased women’s labor force participation and employment as well as the school attendance and grades of children who did not previously have after-school parental supervision. Read more »
FEATURED RESEARCHER
African scholar spotlight: Khadijat Busola Amolegbe
Over the course of 2022, we’re publishing a blog series highlighting the work of economists from the African continent who are leading randomized evaluations. In our newest African scholar spotlight, Khadijat Busola Amolegbe (University of Ilorin) discusses her research interests, ongoing evaluations, unanswered research questions in Nigeria, and advice for aspiring African scholars thinking about careers in economic research. Read more »
FEATURED VIDEO
Empowering women through targeted conditional cash transfers in North Macedonia
Past studies have shown that targeting conditional cash transfers to women results in changes to household spending, but it remains unclear how these payments shifted spending or impacted women's decision-making power. In a new video, we highlight J-PAL affiliated professor Orazio Attanasio (Yale) and coauthors’ evaluation of a nationwide transfer program for low-income households in North Macedonia to help answer this question. Watch the video »
WELCOMING OUR NEW AFFILIATED PROFESSORS
In summer 2021, 38 talented researchers joined the J-PAL network. We will feature a few of them here each month.
Tanguy Bernard
University of Bordeaux
Morgan Hardy
New York University
Abu Dhabi
Anant Nyshadham
University of Michigan
FEATURED EVENTS
[March 23] Environment, Energy, and Climate Action in India: Mainstreaming Evidence Generation through Randomized Evaluations
Despite significant innovation and policy momentum in the environment, energy, and climate action space in India, there is a critical lack of research on the real-world impacts of common interventions and programs. This webinar will explore why, when, and how randomized evaluations can be used to generate rigorous evidence for effective solutions and policymaking in response to climate change. Register »
[Webinar recap] Advancing Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Worldwide
J-PAL’s Education sector, in collaboration with Delivery Associates, Pratham, and UNICEF, as part of the 2022 Foundation Literacy & Numeracy Academy series, recently co-hosted two webinars on parental engagement for participants that included government stakeholders and other education practitioners. Drawing on resources developed for the Foundational Literacy & Numeracy Hub, the first webinar presented findings from research on parental engagement programs and discussed implementation considerations. The second webinar drew on real-world examples that highlighted the practical and operational factors of parental engagement programs. Learn more and watch the recordings »
[Webinar recap] Evidence for Climate Action in Europe
On February 23, J-PAL Europe hosted a webinar on the benefits, challenges, and process of evaluating climate change mitigation and pollution reduction policies in real-world settings. Researchers from the J-PAL network shared key takeaways from randomized evaluations conducted in partnership with governments and the private sector, and members of J-PAL’s King Climate Action Initiative team discussed opportunities for collaboration. Watch the recording »
MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
Pre-employment cards shown to improve recipients’ know-how: Hartarto
Antara News
What can actually convince vaccine skeptics to get their shots
Vox
Odisha: Students to learn gender equity in schools from this academic year
The New Indian Express
Five vital signs for scaling your big idea [Podcast]
NPR
NEW RESEARCH PAPERS
Misconduct and Reputation Under Imperfect Information
Francis Annan
Unpacking a Multi-Faceted Program to Build Sustainable Income for the Very Poor
Abhijit Banerjee, Dean Karlan, Robert Osei, Hannah Trachtman, Christopher Udry
When Do Informational Interventions Work? Experimental Evidence from New York City High School Choice
Sarah Cohodes, Sean Corcoran, Jennifer Jennings, Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj
Can Interactive Online Training Make High School Students More Entrepreneurial? Experimental Evidence from Rwanda
Jeanne Lafortune, Todd Pugatch, José Tessada, Diego Ubfal