J-PAL North America, based at MIT, leads J-PAL’s work in the North America region. J-PAL North America conducts randomized evaluations, builds partnerships for evidence-informed policymaking, and helps partners scale up effective programs.
Our work spans a wide range of sectors including health care, housing, criminal justice, education, and economic mobility. We leverage research by affiliated professors from universities across the continent and a full-time staff of researchers, policy experts, and administrative professionals to generate and disseminate rigorous evidence about which anti-poverty social policies work and why.

More about J-PAL North America
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J-PAL Updates
July 2025 North America Newsletter
J-PAL North America's July newsletter features a new manual for replicating and adapting summer youth employment programming and shares new research results on cash transfers.

Blog
The Evidence Effect: Evidence for more effective social policy in Europe and North America
Generating rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of programs designed to reduce poverty is not just the work of lower and middle-income countries. Countries across Europe and North America are also grappling with how to best tackle deep-rooted and pressing social challenges. These include...

Blog
Re-affirming the value of rigorous, policy-relevant research
Rigorous research plays an essential role in identifying which policies are achieving their intended goals. As leaders of a non-partisan research center, J-PAL North America believes in the power of data and evaluation to understand whether policies are working—and to course correct when they are...
Blog
Fostering a culture of evidence-based policies in Puerto Rico
Research Manager Laura Ruiz and consultant Kimberly Massa share exciting updates on our ongoing work in Puerto Rico, the latest in-person training, and upcoming capacity-building opportunities for future collaborators.