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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 person is speaking in front of a group of teachers in a classroom.

The devil’s in the details (of adapting and scaling evidence-based programs)

J-PAL Senior Policy Associate Robert Rogers discusses his experience working on an education scale-up in Cote d'Ivoire.
A man and woman use their phones for a mobile money transfer

The rise of mobile money in sub-Saharan Africa: Has this digital technology lived up to its promises?

Mobile money has been touted as a revolutionary tool for expanding access to financial services in low resource environments. But does this technology live up to its promises? What are the impacts on the households who use mobile money?
Nine people having a conversation stand around a board covered in post-it notes

Why aren’t farmers using improved agricultural technologies to increase their profits? Lessons from ten years of research in the Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative

By
  • Leah Bridle
Through more than ten years of research in J-PAL and CEGA's Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative, we’ve learned about the range of compounding constraints farmers face as microentrepreneurs, and that the next wave of experimentation should evaluate approaches designed to better include...
Hand holding mobile phone for digital cash transfer

Should government payments be digitized?

Many countries in Africa have digitized government-to-person (G2P) payments, which has proven particularly useful during the COIVD-19 pandemic. But while there has been much progress on the spread of digital payments, we still have little evidence about how to effectively design policies to maximize...
Woman holds a card that reads "our vote our choice" from Ghana Decides

Digital IDs: The good, the bad, and the unknown

As policymakers across Africa are increasingly investing in digital identification systems, the Digital Identification and Finance Initiative in Africa (DigiFI) explores what the benefits, challenges, and unknowns are.
A woman uses a mobile phone to make a cash transfer in front of a fruit stand.

DigiFI Africa: A pillar of the G7 Partnership for Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion in Africa

J-PAL Digital Identification and Finance Initiative in Africa (DigiFI Africa) is honored to be one of the pillars of the G7 Partnership for Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion in Africa. Through DigiFI, J-PAL Africa will support gender-specific research to ensure digital innovations promote the...
Students taking a test in a classroom

Infinitely cost-effective? Common misconceptions in cost-effective analyses

Cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) can be a helpful tool in comparing programs with similar tools and determining which are likely to provide the greatest return on investment. Although CEAs are not sufficient alone to inform policy decisions, they can be a useful starting point.
A group of people stand outside a school.

Reflections on seven years at J-PAL Africa working to inform policy with evidence

By
  • Emily Cupito
After seven years working with J-PAL Africa, I am transitioning to a new role working in local school systems in the United States. Working with J-PAL Africa (and, in recent years, TaRL Africa) has been one of the greatest joys of my life. As I step away, I want to share a few reflections about how...