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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 woman at a desk with a baby on her lap looks at her laptop screen while the baby plays

The challenges of childcare in a pandemic and the impact on women’s work

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, 99 percent of the world’s 2.36 billion children faced some restrictions on movement, and 60 percent faced lockdown measures. With many schools and daycare facilities closed, who is taking care of the children?
A screenshot from a J-PAL NA Zoom meeting featuring 25 people

J-PAL North America's reflections on 2020

J-PAL North America Executive Director Mary Ann Bates reflects on the last year in this post.
Zambian farmers load truck

Affiliate Spotlight: Kelsey Jack

J-PAL affiliate Kelsey Jack is leading a movement of climate-focused research within development economics and poverty alleviation through her own research and as co-chair of the King Climate Action Initiative.
Woman works with a sewing machine in Ghana

Reflecting on J-PAL’s Jobs and Opportunity Initiative’s first year

Quality employment is one of the many ways people can graduate from poverty. Yet, unemployment remains is a problem that has only become more salient through the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of 2020, the Jobs and Opportunity Initiativehas funded more than twenty projects that seek to answer...
A view of the Boston common, city hall, and distant skyscrapers

Promoting upward mobility in partnership with state and local governments: A blueprint for future evaluations

This blog post is the final piece in a series on how state and local governments in the United States can promote upward mobility in their communities. It is part of J-PAL North America’s work to develop a learning agenda that summarizes the core research priorities from state and local governments...
People in a queue for a vaccination drive.

Strengthening social assistance and health response to COVID-19 in India

The COVID-19 pandemic has expanded the proportion of the population in low- and middle-income countries that require social assistance from governments to deal with economic and health vulnerabilities. Can social assistance schemes be better designed so that they reach those who need support the...
A woman uses her phone

Can digital technology help create a more gender-equal society?

Despite considerable progress in achieving gender parity, inequalities faced by women remain a major global challenge. Can access to the right financial tools support women’s empowerment and result in better outcomes for not only women but also children, household welfare, and the wider community?
A laptop viewed from behind, with a hand positioned on the track pad.

Announcing the AEA RCT Registry’s new metadata repository

In 2013, J-PAL began a collaboration with the American Economic Association to create the AEA’s RCT Registry. Now, users can browse registry metadata with ease using monthly data snapshots uploaded to the Harvard Dataverse by J-PAL. These snapshot datasets let users access registry metadata, cite to...