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

Podcasters are seen gathered at the Bokolmanyo refugee camp, in Bokolmanyo, Ethiopia. (Photo courtesy Dr Vandana Sharma)

End the pandemic of violence against women

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To end violence against women and girls requires effective prevention strategies that target its root causes. Such programs address pervasive inequalities and power differentials—especially gender norms that justify and normalize violence against women and girls.
An infographic outlines goals of the California Data Strategy.

The road to rigorous evaluation: training partnership builds use of evidence in California

By
  • Joy Bonaguro
  • Jason Lally
This post shares reflections from Joy Bonaguro, California Statewide Chief Data Officer, and Jason Lally, Deputy Chief Data Officer. In September 2021, CalData and J-PAL North America partnered to provide a training on Designing Rigorous Evaluations of Government Programs to participants from...
Young child crawling

Behind the scenes with researchers from the Baby’s First Years study

Baby’s First Years (BFY), a J-PAL North America-funded study, recently published results showing that monthly cash support impacts infant brain activity. In an interview with J-PAL staff, J-PAL affiliated professor Lisa Gennetian (Duke University) and researcher Kimberly Noble (Teachers College...
Parents help their young baby take her first steps.

Strengthening randomized evaluations with qualitative research: Baby’s First Years household measurement

By
  • Sarah Halpern-Meekin
  • Jill Hoiting
In this post, researchers from the Baby's First Years study describe what we can gain from triangulating with qualitative and quantitative data on household rosters and how it should encourage us to be cautious in interpreting our results.
Laura Feeney and Vincent Quan

Get to know J-PAL North America’s co-executive directors

Laura Feeney and Vincent Quan discuss their backgrounds before coming to J-PAL North America, how they plan to work together as co-executive directors, and their top priorities in 2022.
A mother and her newborn baby lay in bed together.

Strengthening randomized evaluations with qualitative research: Baby’s First Years mothers' experiences

By
  • Sarah Halpern-Meekin
  • Katherine Magnuson
In this post, the researchers on the Baby's First Years study reflect on the value of qualitative research in both providing a deeper understanding of each participant’s background and context and painting a fuller picture of mothers’ experiences in the study.
A folder labeled "Medical Bills" and marked "past due"

Exploring the benefits of rigorous evidence with the team behind the evaluation of RIP Medical Debt

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Allison Sesso (Executive Director of RIP Medical Debt) and Wes Yin (UCLA) discuss the ongoing randomized evaluation of RIP Medical Debt’s model for buying and relieving medical debt.
Marcella Alsan leans against a short wall, facing the viewer.

Affiliate Spotlight: Marcella Alsan on her recent MacArthur Fellowship award and researching racial disparities in health

Marcella Alsan, economist, physician, and Co-Chair of J-PAL’s US Health Care Delivery Initiative, was recently selected as a recipient of a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, in recognition of her work “investigating the role that legacies of discrimination and resulting mistrust play in perpetuating racial...