Christopher Neilson is an assistant professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University. He has been a J-PAL affiliate since 2017.

How did you become interested in development economics?

I moved around a lot when I was growing up; I spent time in Chile, Brazil, and the United States. These experiences exposed me to contrasts in development—both across countries, and as well as within countries—and these disparities left a mark. The consequences of ineffective economic policy were very visible. For example, when I was 9 or 10, I remember negotiating my allowance to be in US dollars when my family briefly lived in Brazil during a period of hyperinflation. Read More

Earlier this month, we wrote about how partnerships funded by J-PAL’s Government Partnership Initiative (GPI) have helped increase governments’ use of data and evidence in policymaking in places like Chile, India, Peru, and Zambia.

One common theme across all of GPI’s partnerships is that they are led by a champion in government who is making evidence-informed policy a priority. We could not contribute data and evidence to policy decisions without their leadership and dedication. Read More

At J-PAL, we often talk about the importance of using evidence to design and implement effective policies and programs, and many governments are working to make it a priority. But what does this look like in practice? How can we best support governments in finding and applying the evidence they need to make informed decisions?

We manage the Government Partnership Initiative (GPI), a J-PAL fund that supports... Read More