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 self-nomination process for 2023 has concluded. Updates on the self-nomination process for 2024 will be shared in the coming months. To be eligible for consideration when the self-nomination process re-opens, researchers must provide the following as part of their self-nomination: 

  •  Link to CV
  • Two publications for consideration by the IRSC
  • 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 from a J-PAL affiliate, your department chair, or another senior academic

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)
  • 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 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

Hamidou Jawara

J-PAL title
Lecturer
Organization Name
University of the Gambia

Rajshri Jayaraman

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
ESMT Berlin

Anders Jensen

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

Pamela Jervis

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
Universidad de Chile

Anett John

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Birmingham

Terence Johnson

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Data Science
Organization Name
University of Virginia

Erin Johnson

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Applied Economics
Organization Name
MIT Sloan School of Management

Andrew Johnston

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

Benjamin Jones

J-PAL title
Gordon and Llura Gund Family Professor of Entrepreneurship
Organization Name
Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management

Kelly Jones

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
American University

Ariel Kalil

J-PAL title
Professor
Organization Name
The University of Chicago

Mounir Karadja

J-PAL title
Professor of Economics
Organization Name
Uppsala University

Sabrina Karim

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
Cornell University

Anne Karing

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

Bereket Kebede

J-PAL title
Professor
Organization Name
University of East Anglia

Malcolm Keswell

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

Yasir Khan

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Pittsburgh

Sarah Khan

J-PAL title
Lecturer (Assistant Professor)
Organization Name
Yale University

Shefali Khanna

J-PAL title
Research Associate
Organization Name
Imperial College London

Celeste Kidd

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

Joy Kiiru

J-PAL title
Senior Lecturer
Organization Name
University of Nairobi

Assi José Carlos KIMOU

Organization Name
CAPEC/Université Félix Houphouet-Boigny

Katherine Kinzler

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

Marieke Kleemans

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

Patrick Kline

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

Raymond Kluender

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
Organization Name
Harvard Business School (HBS)

Marlene Koffi

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor
Organization Name
University of Toronto

Michael Kofoed

J-PAL title
Associate Professor of Economics
Organization Name
United States Military Academy (USMA)

Jonathan Kolstad

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

Rembrand (Rem) Koning

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Strategy Unit
Organization Name
Harvard Business School (HBS)

Fabian Kosse

J-PAL title
Professor
Organization Name
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)

Dmitri Koustas

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

Caroline Krafft

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
St. Catherine University

Joshua Lev Krieger

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
Organization Name
Harvard Business School (HBS)

Elif Kubilay

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor in Economics
Organization Name
University of Essex

Adriana Kugler

J-PAL title
Professor
Organization Name
Georgetown University

Elira Kuka

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

Santosh Kumar

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
University of Notre Dame

Edward Kutsoati

J-PAL title
Associate Professor of Economics
Organization Name
Tufts University

Ilyana Kuziemko

J-PAL title
Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Affairs
Organization Name
Princeton University

Julien Labonne

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
University of Oxford

Nicola Lacetera

J-PAL title
Professor
Organization Name
University of Toronto

Mylene Lagarde

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

Joanna Lahey

J-PAL title
Associate Professor
Organization Name
Texas A&M University

David Laibson

J-PAL title
Robert I. Goldman Professor of Economics Contact
Organization Name
Harvard University

Monica Lambon-Quayefio

J-PAL title
Researcher
Organization Name
University of Ghana

Julia Lane

J-PAL title
Provostial Fellow for Innovation Analytics; Professor, Wagner School of Public Policy
Organization Name
NYU Wagner School of Public Service

Lisa Larrimore Ouellette

J-PAL title
Professor of Law
Organization Name
Stanford University