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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 uses a mobile phone to make a cash transfer in front of a fruit stand.

Building a robust evidence-based research community: Strengthening pathways for African researchers

Researchers from many groups, including women, people of color, and people from low- and middle-income countries, are underrepresented in the field of economics and face numerous barriers to their growth. We hold the conviction that research grounded in knowledge of the geographic and cultural...
A mother and her newborn baby lay in bed together.

Strengthening randomized evaluations with qualitative research: Baby’s First Years mothers' experiences

By
  • Sarah Halpern-Meekin
  • Katherine Magnuson
In this post, the researchers on the Baby's First Years study reflect on the value of qualitative research in both providing a deeper understanding of each participant’s background and context and painting a fuller picture of mothers’ experiences in the study.
The Seattle, Washington skyline at sunrise

Strengthening randomized evaluations with qualitative research, Part 3: Creating moves to opportunity

By
In part three of our qualitative research blog series on incorporating qualitative research into randomized evaluations, we learn more about how researchers conducting the Creating Moves to Opportunity (CMTO) project embedded qualitative research methods into their study and what factors made...
A Black doctor takes the blood pressure of a seated Black man

Strengthening randomized evaluations with qualitative research, part 2: Matching provider race to increase take-up of preventive health services

For the second blog in our blog series on incorporating qualitative research into randomized evaluations, we spoke with US Health Care Delivery Initiative Co-Chair Marcella Alsan about her research team’s experience using qualitative research methods in the scoping and analysis phases of their...
A circle of people sitting in chairs face a man sitting on a chair in front of them

Strengthening randomized evaluations through incorporating qualitative research, Part 1

J-PAL North America reflects on using qualitative research methods in randomized evaluations, and summarize a few practical tips for those interested in integrating a qualitative approach into their studies.
A group of people participating in an impact evaluation training discuss lessons while sitting at a table.

J-PAL South Asia launches Indian Scholars Program to strengthen ties with India-based researchers

J-PAL South Asia’s new Indian Scholars Program (ISP) will provide research funding, training, and networking opportunities for researchers and academics in India to further expand its network of researchers leading rigorous, policy-relevant randomized evaluations in the country.
A man wearing a mask sits at a desk typing on a computer.

Evidence from the AEA RCT Registry on new research during Covid-19

A host of new studies sprung up in response to the changing realities of field work and research priorities during the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to identify trends in the research pipeline, we examined public data from the AEA RCT Registry and the Harvard Dataverse.
A hand holding a small card resting on top of a bag of rice and a bag of fruit.

The role of administrative data in improving social protection programs: A success story from Indonesia

Read about a collaboration between the Government of Indonesia and researchers to use government administrative data to evaluate some of the largest social programs in the country.