The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)

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Our mission is to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. We do this through research, policy outreach, and training.

Marco Gonzalez Navarro standing in modern building

Affiliate

Marco Gonzalez-Navarro

Marco Gonzalez-Navarro studies the impact of economic vulnerability on citizens’ willingness to engage in clientelism with local politicians. In our interview, he describes early influences on his research interests and how a book about behavioral economics saved an evaluation in Brazil from derailment.

Woman shows games to children

News

New research: Math games help children learn

J-PAL Director Esther Duflo teamed up with psychologists and the education NGO Pratham to evaluate an education intervention based on cognitive science for preschool children in Delhi, India.

Two students work on a whiteboard

Lesson

Charter Schools

The estimated impacts of charter schools have varied widely. In Massachusetts, students who won lotteries for charter schools located in urban areas often did substantially better than students who lost, while students who won lotteries for charter schools in nonurban areas fared, on average, about the same or somewhat worse compared to those who lost. A common feature of the charter schools with the most positive effects has been the adoption of a “No Excuses” educational approach.

Two women use computers as part of job training program

Affiliate

Roland Rathelot

Roland Rathelot (University of Warwick) studies the impacts of job counseling, discrimination against ethnic minorities, and residential segregation on employment. In our latest affiliate Q&A, Roland explains how his time as a civil servant in France influenced his interest in helping to solve France's chronically high unemployment rate.

844 ongoing and completed randomized evaluations in 80 countries