Invited Researchers

Invited researchers are an important element of J-PAL’s effort to increase the number of high-quality randomized evaluations providing actionable insights on the most effective approaches to reduce poverty and improve lives worldwide. The more than 550 invited researchers in the J-PAL network are eligible to apply for funding from J-PAL or work with a J-PAL regional office to implement their evaluation. 

Learn more about invited researchers

Like J-PAL affiliated professors, invited researchers are also professors based at academic institutions where freedom to publish results is protected. Invited researchers typically have less experience than affiliated professors in carrying out randomized evaluations. By joining J-PAL as an invited researcher, they become eligible for a three-year term to apply for funding from a specific J-PAL initiative(s) or to work with a specific J-PAL regional office to implement their research project, opening doors to gaining this experience—often in partnership with a J-PAL affiliated professor. 

We seek to recruit invited researchers from universities around the world, with particular emphasis on individuals from or based in a low- or middle-income country. In expanding our invited researcher program, we seek to build diverse networks of researchers around the world who are carrying out randomized evaluations, crowd in subject-matter expertise to J-PAL initiatives, and help researchers strengthen their research portfolio and advance their careers. 

Some invited researchers previously served as post-doctoral associates with J-PAL or members of our affiliate network, or participated in one of J-PAL’s Regional Scholars programs. Many invited researchers go on to become J-PAL affiliated professors; in 2022, 92% of our new affiliates were previously invited researchers.

Invited researcher criteria

Invited researchers typically have less experience carrying out randomized evaluations than affiliates and are invited to either a specific J-PAL initiative(s) or a specific J-PAL regional office. Invited researchers to a J-PAL initiative are eligible to apply for funding from that initiative. Invited researchers to a J-PAL regional office are eligible to contract with that regional office to carry out field research.

Like J-PAL affiliates, invited researchers should be currently affiliated with a university or its equivalent, where academic freedom to publish results is protected, either as a professor or as a principal investigator. Researchers working at funding and implementing organizations (e.g. the World Bank, ADB or IDB) are not eligible to become invited researchers because of potential conflicts. 

Due to limits on research funding and staff capacity, we can only add a limited number of researchers to each initiative or office every year. Eligible invited researchers are identified through an extensive annual centralized search process, nominated quarterly by initiative co-chairs or regional scientific directors, or through an annual self-nomination process (see below). Final selections are made by a committee of J-PAL affiliates.

Self-nomination form

The 2024 self-nomination application to become a J-PAL invited researcher is closed as of August 1, 2024. Applications are under review by J-PAL’s Invited Researcher Selection Committee, and decision notifications will be sent to applicants by late November 2024.

Future applicants: Please check back at this page for information on the 2025 self-nomination period. To be eligible for consideration as a J-PAL invited researcher, researchers must meet the criteria noted above, and must provide the following as part of their self-nomination:

  • CV
  • Two publications in peer-reviewed journals
  • Proof of PhD degree in economics or related quantitative discipline
  • Proof of affiliation to and independent PI status at a university
  • Brief personal statement detailing training, experience running RCTs or interest in doing so in the future, and research interests
  • A reference letter from a J-PAL affiliate, your department chair, or another senior academic

Please email [email protected] with any questions.

Additional information on active Invited Researchers' eligibility

Use the filters below to identify all active Invited Researchers that are associated with each J-PAL initiative and regional office. Alternatively, download this PDF listing all Invited Researchers are their eligible initiatives and regional offices.

All invited researchers are eligible for the following initiatives and regional offices:

  • Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative (ATAI)
  • Digital Agricultural Innovations and Services Initiative (DAISI)
  • Digital Identification and Finance Initiative (DigiFI)
  • Gender and Economic Agency Initiative (GEA)
  • Governance Initiative (GI)
  • Innovation In Government Initiative (IGI)
  • Jobs and Opportunity Initiative Brazil (JOI BR)
  • Jobs and Opportunity Initiative Global (JOI GL)
  • Learning for All Initiative (LAI)
  • Science for Progress Initiative (SfPI)
  • Crime and Violence Initiative (CVI)
  • J-PAL Africa
  • J-PAL Middle East and North Africa
  • J-PAL South Asia

In addition, all researchers who are eligible for the Humanitarian Protection Initiative (HPI) are also eligible for the Displaced Livelihoods Initiative (DLI) and vice versa.

Finally, when a researcher is eligible to work with a regional office, they are eligible for all of the initiatives housed at that office.

Explore Invited Researchers

Dina Abdel Fattah

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
American University in Cairo (AUC)

Ama Baafra Abeberese

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
Wellesley College

Dolores Acevedo-Garcia

J-PAL title
Professor of Human Development and Social Policy; Director, Institute for Child Youth and Family Policy
Organization Name
Brandeis University

Uzma Afzal

J-PAL title
Research and Teaching Fellow
Organization Name
Lahore School of Economics

Nikhil Agarwal

J-PAL title
Associate Professor of Economics
Organization Name
MIT Department of Economics

Leila Agha

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
Dartmouth College

Josefa Aguirre

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC Chile)

Marcos Agurto

J-PAL title
Professor and Deputy Dean
Organization Name
Universidad de Piura (UDEP)

Anna Aizer

J-PAL title
Associate Professor of Economics & Public Policy
Organization Name
Brown University

Randall Akee

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Robert Akerlof

Organization Name
University of Warwick

Cevat Giray Aksoy

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Economics
Organization Name
King's College London

Yonas Alem

J-PAL title
Senior Research Fellow
Organization Name
University of Gothenburg

Yann Algan

J-PAL title
Professeur d'Economie
Organization Name
HEC

Martha Alibali

J-PAL title
Professor of Psychology
Organization Name
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Claudia Allende

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Economics
Organization Name
Stanford University

Douglas Almond

J-PAL title
Professor of Economics and International and Public Affairs
Organization Name
Columbia University

Miguel Almunia

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
CUNEF Universidad

Ala Alrababah

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
Bocconi University

Mackenzie Alston

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Onur Altindag

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Economics
Organization Name
Bentley University

Maria Laura Alzua

Organization Name
Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)

Maria Laura Alzua

J-PAL title
Professor-Senior Researcher
Organization Name
Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)

Shan Aman-Rana

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Virginia

Desmond Ang

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Public Policy
Organization Name
Harvard Kennedy School

Arief Anshory Yusuf

J-PAL title
Professor of Economics
Organization Name
Universitas Padjajaran

Alex Armand

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
Nova School of Business and Economics

Carolina Arteaga

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Toronto

Sam Asher

J-PAL title
Associate Professor of Economics
Organization Name
Imperial College London

Edward Asiedu

J-PAL title
Lecturer
Organization Name
University of Ghana

Ragui Assaad

J-PAL title
Professor
Organization Name
University of Minnesota (UMN)

Juliano Assunção

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)

Alexandra Avdeenko

J-PAL title
Research Director
Organization Name
World bank

Pierre Azoulay

J-PAL title
International Programs Professor of Management
Organization Name
MIT Sloan School of Management

Bocar Ba

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Economics
Organization Name
Duke University

Martha Bailey

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of California, Los Angeles

Clare Balboni

J-PAL title
3M Career Development Assistant Professor
Organization Name
MIT Department of Economics

Kate Baldwin

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
Yale University

Ana Balsa

J-PAL title
Professor
Organization Name
Universidad de Montevideo (UM)

Nano Barahona

J-PAL title
Assistance Professor
Organization Name
University of California, Berkeley

Giorgia Barboni

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Finance
Organization Name
University of Warwick

Tania Barham

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor Economics
Organization Name
University of Colorado Boulder

Prabhat Barnwal

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
Michigan State University

Carlo Barone

J-PAL title
Professor
Organization Name
Sciences Po

Felipe Barrera-Osorio

J-PAL title
Associate Professor of Public Policy, Education and Economics
Organization Name
Vanderbilt University

Alex Bartik

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Travis Baseler

Assistant Professor

University of Rochester

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Rochester

Catia Batista

J-PAL title
Full Professor of Economics
Organization Name
Nova School of Business and Economics