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)
  • Crime and Violence Initiative (CVI)
  • Digital Agricultural Innovations and Services Initiative (DAISI)
  • Digital Identification and Finance Initiative (DigiFI)
  • Displaced Livelihoods Initiative (DLI)
  • European Social Inclusion Initiative (ESII)
  • Gender and Economic Agency Initiative (GEA)
  • Governance Initiative (GI)
  • Humanitarian Protection Initiative (HPI)
  • 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)
  • J-PAL Africa
  • J-PAL Europe
  • J-PAL Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
  • J-PAL South Asia

Please note that 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

Natalie Bau

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

Jonathan Bauchet

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
Purdue University

Michal Bauer

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute (CERGE-EI)

Samuel Bazzi

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
University of California San Diego (UCSD)

Emily Beam

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
University of Vermont

Sabrin Beg

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Delaware

Daniel Bennett

J-PAL title
Economist
Organization Name
University of Southern California (USC)

Samuel Bentolila

Organization Name
Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros (CEMFI)

Enrico Berkes

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

Eli Berman

J-PAL title
Professor
Organization Name
UC San Diego Department of Economics

Shai Bernstein

J-PAL title
Marvin Bower Associate Professor and Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research
Organization Name
Harvard Business School (HBS)

Leah Bevis

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
The Ohio State University

Prashant Bharadwaj

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
University of California San Diego (UCSD)

Apurav Bhatia

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Birmingham, UK

Kelli Bird

J-PAL title
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION
Organization Name
University of Virginia

Pietro Biroli

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Zurich

Marianne P. Bitler

J-PAL title
Professor and Chair, Department of Economics
Organization Name
UC Davis Center for Poverty Research

Robert Blair

J-PAL title
Associate Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs
Organization Name
Brown University

Matteo Bobba

J-PAL title
Assistant professor
Organization Name
Toulouse School of Economics (TSE)

Oana Borcan

J-PAL title
Associate Professor in Economics
Organization Name
University of East Anglia

Nicolas Bottan

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
Cornell University

Thomas Breda

J-PAL title
Junior Researcher
Organization Name
Paris School of Economics/CNRS

Pascal Bressoux

J-PAL title
Professor of Educational Sciences
Organization Name
Université Grenoble Alpes

Sarah Brierley

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Guglielmo Briscese

J-PAL title
Postdoctoral Fellow
Organization Name
Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago

Erwin Bulte

J-PAL title
Professor
Organization Name
Wageningen University & Research

Ronelle Burger

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
Stellenbosch University

Fiona Burlig

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
The University of Chicago

Justine Burns

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
University of Cape Town (UCT)

Patrick Button

J-PAL title
Associate Professor of Economics at Tulane University
Organization Name
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (SPHTM)

Marika Cabral

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
The University of Texas at Austin

Antonio Cabrales

J-PAL title
Professor of Economics
Organization Name
UNIVERSITY CARLOS III OF MADRID

Sydnee Caldwell

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

Caterina Calsamiglia

Organization Name
Institute of Political Economy and Governance (IPEG)

Pamela Campa

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Economics
Organization Name
Stockholm School of Economics

Christopher Campos

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
The University of Chicago

Cristine Campos de Xavier Pinto

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
Institute of Education and Research (INSPER)

David Card

J-PAL title
Professor of Economics
Organization Name
UC Berkeley Department of Economics

Bladimir Carrillo

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

Paul E. Carrillo

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Economics
Organization Name
George Washington University (GWU)

Michael Carter

J-PAL title
Professor
Organization Name
University of California, Davis

Michael Cassidy

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Population Health
Organization Name
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Benjamin (Ben) Castleman

J-PAL title
Associate Professor in the Economics of Education and Associate Professor of Public Policy
Organization Name
University of Virginia

Julieta Caunedo

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Toronto Rotman School of Management

Pablo Celhay

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

Sylvain Chabé-Ferret

J-PAL title
Research Fellow
Organization Name
Toulouse School of Economics (TSE)

Bhaskar Chakravorty

J-PAL title
Lecturer, Department of Economics
Organization Name
Warwick Institute for Employment Research

Aaron Chalfin

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Pennsylvania