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

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Moving from convenings to classroom change in partner preschool networks

High-quality early childhood education is essential. Randomized evaluations show that simple, low-cost activities, like reading, singing, and playing, can boost children’s cognitive, language, social, and motor skills. How can we deliver high-quality preschool education at scale?
Colleagues stand in a line in front of a projector smiling.

K-CAI at COP30: How evidence is powering climate solutions

In Belém, Brazil, where the Amazon rivers converge and forests help regulate the earth’s temperature, COP30 last month was a unique summit and call to action. Climate change is not just an environmental crisis—it is a development crisis. Low-income people in low- and middle-income countries are...
Rural entrepreneurs selling their products

Empowering rural entrepreneurs in Chile: Insights from the Trafkintunkimun program evaluation

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Can business training programs help rural microentrepreneurs thrive? A new evaluation of Trafkintunkimun, a rural entrepreneurship training program in southern Chile, finds that participants improved their business practices and household incomes. Gains were strongest for women and for entrepreneurs...
Preschool in Brazil

Quality early childhood education: The role of teacher training

With nearly all Brazilian children aged 4 and 5 now enrolled in preschool, new questions are emerging about how to ensure quality in this stage of education. According to Brazil’s National Institute for Educational Studies and Research, 93 percent of children in this age group attend preschool...
Public officials from OEFA. Credit: María Paz Monge | J-PAL LAC.

J-PAL LAC government partnerships: Pathways to evidence

In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), government-led social programs hold the highest potential to drive meaningful change. The J-PAL LAC office partners with governments across the region, working to expand the use of rigorous evidence in shaping public policy. Along the way, we’ve gathered...
A woman wearing a green head scarf stands holding a child. In the foreground is a counter with a bag of subsidized rice.

The Evidence Effect: How LMIC governments drive and scale effective poverty reduction policies

Most LMIC governments invest far more in their own social programs—which include health care, education, and social safety nets—than all foreign aid combined. While foreign assistance has been in the spotlight this year, LMIC governments are the ones that make financial commitments, set priorities...
Group of participants during the Early Childhood Development Conference in Guatemala

J-PAL LAC government partnerships: Supporting government decision-making in Guatemala

Our work at J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is made possible by close collaboration with and the dedication of many regional governments who recognize the importance of using data and evidence to improve social programs and public policy. Over the past fifteen years, we have worked with...
Four people on a panel with a screen behind them.

Integrating conservation into development policy in Brazil

While individual behavior and corporate commitments play an important role in transitioning to a sustainable economic development model, the structural changes needed to mitigate environmental impacts can also be effectively achieved through well-designed public policies.