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

Two smiling women exchange a roll of fabric inside a textile factory in Zimbabwe.

Jobs and Opportunity Initiative commits first round of funds for research on entrepreneurship and enterprise development

Covid-19 has had a dramatic and lasting impact on the micro, small, and medium enterprise landscape worldwide, driving many to shut down or radically reshape the way they do business. The consequences of this shift extend beyond the firm to the livelihoods of its workers and their families...
Screenshot of the DFM Chile learning platform.

Facing an educational Covid earthquake: An example of scaling up and innovating in Chile

Regardless of what happens with the new variants of Covid-19, our children’s educational process was substantially interrupted. Despite the tenacious efforts of educational communities and families, there is evidence that the negative consequences on educational achievement, socialization, emotional...
Four people wearing masks sit in a row on chairs. The person on the far right is speaking into a microphone.

Providing financial and in-kind assistance improves living standards for all but for some more than others: Evidence from a randomized evaluation conducted in Upper Egypt

By
  • Adham Hamdy
Sawiris Foundation for Social Development hosted a seminar on Sunday, September 12 in collaboration with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab Middle East and North Africa based at The American University in Cairo to discuss findings of a study conducted on the effects of loans and grants on...
A young man stands at a whiteboard in front of a class of students, all wearing masks

Applying evidence to help students catch up

School closures due to Covid-19 have thrown education in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) into crisis. How can we begin to address a disruption of this magnitude? To start, we can turn to the ample body of education evidence to guide us. Read to learn how evidence can guide education recovery...
A man carries a large sack up a walkway into a truck

Evaluating an agricultural mobile marketplace at scale in Uganda

By
  • Jenna Fahle
On Tuesday, November 9, Craig McIntosh (Professor of Economics at University of California, San Diego) and co-director of the Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative (ATAI), shared evidence from one of the largest market information experiments ever conducted. Jenna Fahle, CEGA Agriculture...
Children in a classroom

Evaluating and scaling job search tools with the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator

Read how J-PAL Africa and the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator have partnered over the last three years to design, test, and scale job search tools to address South Africa's youth unemployment problem.
Two nurses help a patient in bed

Strengthening randomized evaluations with qualitative research, part 4: Oregon health insurance experiment

By
For the final part of our blog series on incorporating qualitative research into randomized evaluations, we spoke with Associate Professor of Social Work and co-author of the Oregon Health Insurance experiment, Heidi Allen, about how in-depth interviews with study participants helped the research...
People walk through an outdoor market in Chile.

Data collection, new RCTs, and policy guidance to inform pandemic response and recovery

The past year has been filled with tragedy and sacrifice—but, critically, also innovation, as researchers and policymakers addressed new challenges with creative solutions. Existing and newly generated evidence has informed many policies over the past year, providing a roadmap for incorporating...