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

A man and woman use their phones for a mobile money transfer

The rise of mobile money in sub-Saharan Africa: Has this digital technology lived up to its promises?

Mobile money has been touted as a revolutionary tool for expanding access to financial services in low resource environments. But does this technology live up to its promises? What are the impacts on the households who use mobile money?
Six women sit in a row with their backs to a wall

Addressing inequalities in women’s work: J-PAL launches Gender and Economic Agency Initiative

Women face even greater challenges to labor force participation than usual due to the pandemic. J-PAL’s new Gender and Economic Agency Initiative (GEA) launches to support innovative research on strategies to promote women’s work and enhance women’s economic agency.
Juliette Keeley sits with two men at a table, discussing.

Juliette Keeley, J-PAL ’18, on navigating the international development ecosystem

By
Juliette Keeley was a senior policy associate at J-PAL North America and later a West Africa policy consultant for J-PAL. Now a manager at Instiglio—a nonprofit consultancy focusing on results-based financing and performance management in developing countries—she reflects on her experiences working...
Hand holding mobile phone for digital cash transfer

Should government payments be digitized?

Many countries in Africa have digitized government-to-person (G2P) payments, which has proven particularly useful during the COIVD-19 pandemic. But while there has been much progress on the spread of digital payments, we still have little evidence about how to effectively design policies to maximize...
Two women wearing uniforms talking to each other

#DayoftheGirlChild: Preventing the surge in teenage pregnancies due to COVID-19

In this blog, we highlight key interventions that policymakers and practitioners may wish to consider to urgently reduce child marriages and teenage pregnancies in light of the pandemic.
A young student in class

Promoting girls’ participation in schools: insights from academic research

What actions can countries take to implement or reinforce efforts to increase school participation for girls? Pascaline Dupas (Stanford; Co-Chair, J-PAL’s Health sector) presented evidence from randomized evaluations on interventions that have increased school participation in a recent webinar.
Woman holds a card that reads "our vote our choice" from Ghana Decides

Digital IDs: The good, the bad, and the unknown

As policymakers across Africa are increasingly investing in digital identification systems, the Digital Identification and Finance Initiative in Africa (DigiFI) explores what the benefits, challenges, and unknowns are.
A woman uses a mobile phone to make a cash transfer in front of a fruit stand.

DigiFI Africa: A pillar of the G7 Partnership for Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion in Africa

J-PAL Digital Identification and Finance Initiative in Africa (DigiFI Africa) is honored to be one of the pillars of the G7 Partnership for Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion in Africa. Through DigiFI, J-PAL Africa will support gender-specific research to ensure digital innovations promote the...