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

Young people in matching t-shirts sort cans.

Mayor de Blasio, bring back summer jobs

There is still time, and it can be done safely. The economic and social payoff is totally worth it. This op-ed was originally posted in the New York Times on June 29, 2020.
A hand fills out a PPP loan application form.

Too complicated, too confusing: why more small businesses aren’t applying for coronavirus relief loans, and what we can do to reach them

Economic recovery in the wake of COVID-19 will depend on the survival of businesses, yet many at-risk small businesses struggle to reach the SBA’s financial lifeboat. How might policymakers encourage emergency relief loan applications from the most vulnerable small businesses?
A man shows a tablet to a small child who is doing homework.

Using evidence to effectively support education during COVID-19

In light of school closures caused by COVID-19, millions of students are home for the remainder of the academic year. Philanthropy will play a vital role in the response to this crisis. But how can education funders and donors ensure that they are allocating their resources effectively?
Indiana state house building

State and local policy responses to COVID-19: Lessons from evidence

J-PAL North America has curated a set of randomized evaluations that tested specific policy options related to the social safety net, health, and education. Our goal is to provide actionable evidence to inform state and local leaders’ policy responses to challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amy Finkelstein

A healthy understanding

By
  • Peter Dizikes
Amy Finkelstein has changed what we know about Medicaid, Medicare, the economics of health care—and, increasingly, medical care itself.
A flooded street

An agenda for climate change research in North America

As part of a blog series on J-PAL’s work related to climate change, this post highlights J-PAL North America’s contributions to the evidence base in environment, energy, and climate change to date and articulates our agenda for catalyzing more policy-relevant research.
A group of people stand in front of a screen featuring a J-PAL slide

How J-PAL's Evaluating Social Programs course catalyzed a new approach to impact evaluation in Virginia

By
  • Massey Whorley
In this guest post, Massey Whorley, Director of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives at the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS), shares insights from attending J-PAL’s Evaluating Social Programs Course and how it informed efforts to design and implement randomized evaluations of VDSS...

Sharing evidence to inform the future of healthcare delivery and complex care: Lessons from the Camden Coalition and J-PAL North America partnership

By
In this second post of a two-part blog series on the Camden Core Model intervention, Aaron, Amy and Kathleen reflect on their key learnings from the evaluation and how study results will inform the future of the Camden Coalition’s work and the broader field of healthcare delivery and complex care...