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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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Affiliate Spotlight: Raquel Bernal on early childhood education and the importance of lifelong learning

Raquel Bernal is Professor of Economics and President of Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. In this Affiliate Spotlight, she shares more about her path to development economics and her research on early childhood education.
Workers at a factory in Birigui, São Paulo, Brazil

Tackling Brazil's labor market challenges with evidence: JOI Brazil's research agenda

Brazil's labor market faces multiple challenges, including gender and racial disparities, an aging population where many lack access to savings or a pension, and adaptation to new labor regulations and digital transformation. The Covid-19 crisis exacerbated challenges as unemployment rates in the...
Pregnant woman with smartphone

Leveraging technology to improve child-caregiver interactions at scale

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Can technology be used to improve child-caregiver interactions and support child development? Traditional parenting interventions are often costly and tightly controlled, which limits their large-scale implementation. A low-cost intervention called Crianza Positiva, delivering text and audio...
Sao Paulo, Brazil - Department of Justice

Expanding government partnerships in Brazil and Mexico for evidence-informed policy

In this blog post, J-PAL staff highlight some examples of our policy partnership experiences and announce a selection process to engage with new governments in Brazil and Mexico.
Women having a union meeting

Developing capacities for the generation and use of evidence in the promotion of women's agency in Central America

Organizations in Central America increasingly recognize the importance of improving women’s agency by implementing programs and initiatives to support this goal. As part of J-PAL Latin America and the Caribbean’s (LAC) efforts to strengthen capacities and share evidence, in January 2023, we started...
Graduating Class Photo

What makes the J-PAL/UC Diploma in Impact Evaluation unique? Members of the ‘22 cohort tell us about their experience

Since 2016, the Diploma in Impact Evaluation of Public Policy and Social Programs, offered jointly by J‑PAL Latin America and the Caribbean and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, has provided students with the tools to design and understand the results of rigorous program evaluations. Alumni...
Young boy learning through laptop

Online Tutoring: a Promising Solution for Accelerating Learning

During the Covid-19 pandemic, online tutoring emerged as a potential solution to education challenges resulting from school closures on a massive scale. We are just having a first glimpse of the consequences of the pandemic on students’ outcomes—and it does not look good.
Woman carrying backet of tropical fruit in the Amazon forest

How can we best conserve the Amazon? Open policy questions for randomized evaluations

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The Amazon Forest–covering over nine countries in Latin America–has an essential role in the environment and climate. Which policies are the most effective in protecting it and reducing its deforestation? The blog post outlines some open policy questions for randomized evaluations to conserve the...