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

An aerial shot of a village.

New resource: Incorporating remote sensing data into randomized evaluations

A growing number of economists are incorporating remotely sensed (RS) data—satellite data in particular—into their studies. For randomized evaluations, remote data collection offers alluring possibilities: lower data collection costs, a longer time series of data both before and after an...
Man taking care of a coffee tree that grows wild in a tropical rain forest in Pekalongan, Central Java, Indonesia.

Growing evidence-informed climate policy: Five scaling stories from the King Climate Action Initiative

J-PAL’s King Climate Action Initiative (K-CAI) supports pilot studies, randomized evaluations, and scaling projects at the nexus of climate change and poverty alleviation. Three years ago, the initiative concluded its first funding competition. Since then, K-CAI has generated evidence that has...
Cars and trucks drive on a highway in a city surrounded by smog

Evaluating effectiveness and equity in climate mitigation and transportation policy: A webinar recap

In December 2023, J-PAL North America’s Leveraging Evaluation and Evidence for Equitable Recovery (LEVER) program hosted a webinar in collaboration with Results for America highlighting how state and local jurisdictions can use randomized evaluation to accelerate climate action and tap into federal...
Panel discussion on transitioning to clean energy in Arab states

Partnering for resilience: Strengthening climate adaptation in the Middle East and North Africa

In the context of leveraging randomized evaluations for climate action, developing partnerships between various stakeholders is a necessary first step. From that premise, J-PAL MENA at the American University in Cairo co-hosted with the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development in Egypt, the...
Young Indian farmer digging in the field in front of sprinklers, at sunset

J-PAL South Asia and Community Jameel reaffirm their commitment to increase clean air and water access with the launch of SARWA

Two of the most fundamental necessities for human survival are under stress today: clean air and water. To fight this pressing problem, J-PAL, with Community Jameel, has launched the Air and Water Labs with government partners in Africa, MENA, and South Asia. Together, these labs aim to improve...
People walking in narrow street with full of food stalls during daytime in India

Shaping the right incentives for firms to facilitate climate adaptation and improve environmental quality

By
IPA and JPAL have supported numerous rigorous research studies exploring diverse questions related to climate change and sustainable development. In particular, since 2020, the King Climate Action Initiative at J-PAL has funded several randomized evaluations addressing these questions as well as...
Photo of an officer checking the condition of the solar panel, early warning system, in anticipation of landslides

Of satellites and surveys: How innovative data collection can speed up climate action

This Earth Day blog post discusses how we speed up the path from research to policy action at J-PAL through the King Climate Action Initiative (K-CAI), which prioritizes funding research and scaling that uses administrative and remote sensing data to generate results in a timely manner.
Farmer standing in his growing soybean field examining the progress of plants.

Identifying and testing gender-sensitive and climate-resilient agricultural solutions: The Digital Agricultural Innovations and Services Initiative’s first round of projects

J-PAL and the Center for Effective Global Action’s (CEGA) Digital Agricultural Innovations and Services Initiative (DAISI) was launched in 2021 to rigorously evaluate programs that increase the availability, quality, and reach of bundled, digital agricultural solutions and services for small-scale...