The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,100 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,100 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
Our affiliated professors are based at over 130 universities and conduct randomized evaluations around the world to design, evaluate, and improve programs and policies aimed at reducing poverty. They set their own research agendas, raise funds to support their evaluations, and work with J-PAL staff on research, policy outreach, and training.
Our Board of Directors, which is composed of J-PAL affiliated professors and senior management, provides overall strategic guidance to J-PAL, our sector programs, and regional offices.
We host events around the world and online to share results and policy lessons from randomized evaluations, to build new partnerships between researchers and practitioners, and to train organizations on how to design and conduct randomized evaluations, and use evidence from impact evaluations.
Browse news articles about J-PAL and our affiliated professors, read our press releases and monthly global and research newsletters, and connect with us for media inquiries.
Based at leading universities around the world, our experts are economists who use randomized evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty. Connect with us for all media inquiries and we'll help you find the right person to shed insight on your story.
J-PAL is based at MIT in Cambridge, MA and has seven regional offices at leading universities in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
J-PAL is based at MIT in Cambridge, MA and has seven regional offices at leading universities in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Our global office is based at the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It serves as the head office for our network of seven independent regional offices.
Led by affiliated professors, J-PAL sectors guide our research and policy work by conducting literature reviews; by managing research initiatives that promote the rigorous evaluation of innovative interventions by affiliates; and by summarizing findings and lessons from randomized evaluations and producing cost-effectiveness analyses to help inform relevant policy debates.
Led by affiliated professors, J-PAL sectors guide our research and policy work by conducting literature reviews; by managing research initiatives that promote the rigorous evaluation of innovative interventions by affiliates; and by summarizing findings and lessons from randomized evaluations and producing cost-effectiveness analyses to help inform relevant policy debates.
How do policies affecting private sector firms impact productivity gaps between higher-income and lower-income countries? How do firms’ own policies impact economic growth and worker welfare?
How can we identify effective policies and programs in low- and middle-income countries that provide financial assistance to low-income families, insuring against shocks and breaking poverty traps?
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.
Addressing the J-PAL session titled "From Algorithms to Outcomes: Building AI that Works for People" on the second day of the 'India AI Impact Summit 2026' here, Krishnan said the India AI Mission is modelled to address diverse needs and real-world challenges.
Iqbal Singh Dhaliwal, Global Executive Director of The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), underscored the importance of rigorous evaluation, saying that "If you've spent enough time in development, you've seen many silver bullets come and go."
In conversation with The Print, Iqbal Dhaliwal, Global Executive Director of Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), explains why AI in public policy must be judged by measurable outcomes, not ambition. Hosting “AI for Social Good: Impact That Works” at the summit, J-PAL calls for rigorous...
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 will showcase the ingenuity and skill of India’s tech workforce, civil society organisations and universities, and the government’s long-term vision — first in building a strong digital public infrastructure, and now in AI.
Project AI Evidence will connect governments, tech companies, and nonprofits with world-class economists at MIT and across J-PAL's global network to evaluate and improve AI solutions.
In this edition of our newsletter, we cover our annual update, including reflections on rapid changes in global development and key priorities for 2026, the lineup for J-PAL's flagship event at next week's India AI Impact Summit, including speakers from Meta, Google, Anthropic, government leaders...
Munip Utama applies knowledge from the MITx MicroMasters Program in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy to his efforts supporting students in Indonesia.