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

J-PAL Africa launches the Digital Identification and Finance Research Initiative (DigiFI Africa)

J-PAL Africa, based at the University of Cape Town, recently launched the Digital Identification and Finance Research Initiative (DigiFI Africa). Supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this USD$7 million research fund is designed to study the impact of innovative government and private...
Will Dobbie headshot

Affiliate spotlight: Will Dobbie on conducting randomized evaluations to reduce inequalities in the United States

Will Dobbie is a J-PAL affiliate and an assistant professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University. He is a recipient of a 2019 Sloan Research Fellowship, awarded to “early-career scientists of outstanding promise” in recognition of “distinguished performance and a unique potential...

Building evidence, advancing policy, and impacting lives at the state and local level

In February 2019, J-PAL North America hosted Building Evidence, Advancing Policy, Impacting Lives, - the third annual convening of J-PAL’s State and Local Innovation Initiative - to bring government leaders together on MIT’s campus. Together with academic researchers, funders, and research...

Announcing the Innovation in Government Initiative

Today we are announcing J-PAL’s Innovation in Government Initiative (IGI). IGI’s mission is to work with governments to adapt, pilot, and scale evidence-informed innovations with the potential to improve the lives of millions of people living in poverty in developing countries.

Preparing for 2018 elections in the "Year of the Woman": Lessons from India

If many more women are elected to office, we don’t yet know what impacts such an influx might have on policy decisions and gender norms in US society. However, many J-PAL affiliated researchers have explored this question in India by taking advantage of a naturally occurring experimental design.

Using evidence to improve open government initiatives

J-PAL Southeast Asia Executive Director Lina Marliani shares examples from J-PAL affiliated researchers’ work to highlight how randomized evaluations can be used to inform open governance programs.
Rachel Glennerster on a large stage

When do innovation and evidence change lives?

Executive Director Rachel Glennerster shares lessons learned for moving from effective research to action from J-PAL’s nearly two decades of work, including the example of Generasi from Indonesia.