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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 headshot of Monica Lambon-Quayefio

African Scholar Spotlight: Dr. Monica Lambon-Quayefio

In this post, we speak with Monica Lambon-Quayefio, a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana. Monica’s primary research interests include health economics, spatial econometrics, development, and experimental economics.
A large group of mostly women, many of whom are wearing purple, sits in front of a stage with eight people on it.

Affiliate Spotlight: Sandip Sukhtankar on his path to becoming a economist and the value of interdisciplinary collaboration

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Sandip Sukhtankar is an associate professor of economics at the University of Virginia. He serves on the board of J-PAL’s Digital Identification and Finance Initiative in Africa (DigiFI Africa) and co-directs the Payments and Governance Research Program (PGRP) hosted at J-PAL South Asia. Sandip’s...
A woman stands in front of a bookcase wearing a black jacket and glasses.

Affiliate Spotlight: Tavneet Suri on the importance of locally-grounded research

A weak internet connection did not stop J-PAL Africa Scientific Director Tavneet Suri from getting her point across in our interview: Good research is done with an ear to the ground and a connection to the community. Calling in from her home country of Kenya, Tavneet emphasized how important it is...
students attending Breakthrough's gender sensitization in-classroom discussions

Affiliate Spotlight: Seema Jayachandran

Seema Jayachandran is a Professor of Economics at Northwestern University. Seema currently serves on J-PAL's board of directors and is the chair of J-PAL's gender sector. Her research focuses on economic issues in low- and middle-income that persist in spite of overall economic growth, including...
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...
Esther Duflo smiles and looks at something to her right off camera

Affiliate Spotlight: Esther Duflo on deciding how to share

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  • Douglas Clement
Esther Duflo on the Nobel Prize, effective program interventions, and diversity in economics.
students sit at desks inside a classroom working on an assignment

Affiliate Spotlight: Michela Carlana

Michela Carlana is an assistant professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. From researching the subtle role of bias and motivation in student outcomes to rapidly launching and evaluating scalable programs to combat learning loss, Michela’s work reflects a commitment to reducing...
Adam Osman presents in front of a J-PAL MENA banner

Affiliate Spotlight: Adam Osman

Adam Osman is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Co-Scientific Director at J-PAL Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Adam’s work using randomized evaluations to test theories about improving the lives of the poor serves to fill the gap in...