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Browse news articles about J-PAL and our affiliated professors, and read our press releases and monthly global and research newsletters. For media inquiries, please email us.

Some UAE schools to get new Arabic programme: What parents need to know

A new Arabic programme will be introduced across private schools in Ras Al Khaimah from September 2026. Called IQRA, the Arabic word for "read,” the programme was developed by the Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research. The trial, conducted by J-PAL MENA, the regional office...

Hartek Foundation partners with Punjab Police and J-PAL for gender-sensitivity training

With a focus on skill building, the Foundation conducted statewide training programmes for over 2,000 Punjab Police officials on gender sensitivity and mainstreaming women in policing, in collaboration with Punjab Police and J-PAL.

May 2026 Global Monthly Newsletter

In the May edition of our newsletter, catch up on evidence on what helps people on cash benefits find jobs, find out how trail bridges raised household consumption and farm profits in Rwanda, Africa's job challenge, how exports and regional markets can unlock growth and job creation, and more.

Where international finance meets development: The role of currency risk

Currency volatility in African markets shapes development outcomes by determining who can access capital and on what terms, with firms in shallow financial markets often forced to choose between expensive local-currency finance and exchange-rate risk from foreign-currency debt.

Anti-poverty program is effective even in one of the world's toughest settings

NPR
Northwestern University economist and J-PAL affiliate Dean Karlan highlighted that the Graduation approach delivered results even in one of the world's most challenging environments, Somalia noting that the results fall in the upper end of the spectrum for what the program typically delivers, and...

Video | Abhijit Banerjee says teaching children, not curriculum, is key to faster global education progress

J-PAL's co-founder Abhijit Banerjee says teaching children, not curriculum, is key to faster global education progress, at the Yashraj Bharati Samman, 2026.

Podcast | How will falling fertility rates hurt the economy? With Melissa Kearney

Typically, a society’s population remains stable if women have about 2.1 children each. By that metric, the word has a big problem. In developed countries the total fertility rate is well below that figure. So what are the economic consequences of that shortfall? Soumaya Keynes speaks to Melissa...

Advocates push TVET to tackle youth unemployment

J-PAL affiliate Monica Lambon-Quayefio, Associate Professor at the Department of Economics, University of Ghana, said unlocking the potential of TVET required a deliberate, well-resourced, and inclusive ecosystem to prepare the youth for the modern economy during the webinar on the theme "Youth...