Blog

As governments face multiple economic, political, and environmental constraints, it may be tempting to turn to new technologies or shiny silver bullets to deliver results. But here is what we know: lasting climate resilience won’t come from a new AI tool or financing on its own. Because without...

Impact evaluations aim to answer a fundamental question: What is the causal impact of a program on an outcome of interest? To answer this, we need to try to understand what would have happened to program participants in the absence of the program.

Cash transfers such as minimum incomes, grants, universal basic incomes or food stamps, are a common tool to alleviate poverty. Working with governments, J-PAL researchers are exploring whether combining these transfers with additional resources can help people make better use of cash assistance and...

One common way that governments and development funders try to promote business growth and job creation is to help businesses produce more, including by giving them credit and training. This can be useful, but only a little and for some. Why? Part of the answer is because most firms are not just...

Our team had a whirlwind week at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 last month, the largest annual global gathering on AI. We hosted an official, day-long seminar: AI for Social Good: Impact that Works. We shared how measuring real-world impact is essential to realizing AI’s potential while avoiding...

Integrating evidence into public sector decision-making is a practical challenge. It requires technical capacity, usable data, and management routines that make it possible to prioritize, learn, and adjust policies in a sustained way. In this context, the Ministry of Economy and Public Management of...

Through our African Scholars Program, we hope to help create more opportunities for African researchers to advance the research agenda on the continent through randomized evaluations. In this spotlight, we speak with Nathaniel Olutegbe of the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.

Through the African Scholars Program, J-PAL Africa is creating more opportunities for African researchers to advance the research agenda on the continent through randomized evaluations.