Blog

News

News, ideas, and analysis from J-PAL staff and affiliated professors. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive monthly email updates.

Three women are seated on a bench outside of a dwelling, one of whom holds a small child. Two women are seated next to the bench, peeling garlic over a large bowl.

Overcoming barriers to women’s adoption of digital financial services in Indonesia

In Indonesia, various efforts, such as digital financial education programs, expansion of QR code utilization to different types of merchants, and onboarding women-owned businesses to e-commerce platforms, have been and continue to be implemented to increase women’s adoption of digital financial...
A woman rides a tricycle to collect recyclables, which she negotiated with building administrators, neighbors, and hotel managers

Gender and Economic Agency Initiative increases funding to Latin America and South Asia with third funding round

As the world enters its third year with Covid-19, gender inequalities that existed before the pandemic continue to impact women around the world. Since its creation in 2020, the Gender and Economic Agency Initiative has been seeking to address gender inequalities related to women's labor force...
A male farmer standing in a field of crops looks down at a mobile phone that he is holding.

Evidence for digital and bundled services: Framing a research agenda for the Digital Agricultural Innovations and Services Initiative

As the reach of digital agricultural services has grown rapidly within the last few years, building an evidence base on how these services should be designed, implemented, and scaled to best align with the priorities of small-scale producers is an important and timely issue—and one that J-PAL's...
J-PAL staff members share the results of an evaluation with Indonesia government workers.

Establishing effective research collaboration: Finding common ground between policymakers and academics

In Indonesia, there has been growing interest from governments at all levels to adopt a broader culture of evidence- and data-driven policymaking to meet the needs of the country’s most marginalized constituents. However, bridging research and policymaking is often not a straightforward process.
A woman writes down data on a notepad while consulting a laptop in Indonesia

Improving data sharing practices: Developing a mutual understanding between researchers and policymakers

On May 17, J-PAL Southeast Asia (SEA) hosted a webinar to raise awareness about the importance of updated, secure, and ethical data sharing practices for evidence-based policymaking. Here are the key takeaways from the webinar.
Andrea stands in front of a posterboard, looking back at equations she has just written on it

Andrea Adhi, J-PAL ’19, on using interdisciplinary research to support Indonesia’s most vulnerable during Covid-19

By
Andrea Adhi is a former research manager at J-PAL Southeast Asia, where she managed randomized evaluations on branchless banking, migration, and more. Now at PUSKAPA, the Center on Child Protection and Wellbeing at Universitas Indonesia, Andrea leads their team focused on social inclusion and...

Improving gender equality in Indonesia: The importance of addressing gender norms

Read about J-PAL Southeast Asia's November 2021 webinar to raise awareness of the Government of Indonesia’s policies and programs to promote gender equality and discuss learnings from evidence on women’s empowerment interventions around the world.