Blog

News

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.

December 2021 North America Newsletter

J-PAL North America's December newsletter features five new state and local government partners, research results from a study on financial incentives for Covid-19 vaccine uptake, and a case study on the Office of Evaluation Sciences's work to institutionalize evidence use across federal government...

For Non-White Young People, a Letter of Recommendation can be Surprisingly Powerful

The findings and implications of J-PAL affiliates Sara Heller and Judd Kessler's randomized evaluation on how letters of recommendation help non-white youth are discussed.

November 2021 North America Newsletter

J-PAL North America's November newsletter features the office's GivingTuesday campaign to alleviate poverty through an evidence-based approach to the American Rescue Plan; a new blog post featuring RIP Medical Debt's ongoing evaluation to assess its model for buying and relieving medical debt; and a...

J-PAL North America announces appointment of Laura Feeney and Vincent Quan as new Co-Executive Directors

J-PAL North America announces that Laura Feeney and Vincent Quan, who previously led the center’s research, training, and policy teams, are now serving as the new co-executive directors of the organization.

October 2021 North America Newsletter

J-PAL North America's October newsletter features an interview with Marcella Aslan, co-chair of J-PAL North America’s US Health Care Delivery Initiative, on her recent recognition as a 2021 MacArthur Fellow; new research results highlighting discrimination in hiring among large US employers; and...

Harvard Kennedy School Professor Marcella Alsan Wins MacArthur Grant

J-PAL affiliate Marcella Alsan wins MacArthur Grant for her work in health disparities at the intersection of medicine and economics.

September 2021 North America Newsletter

J-PAL North America's September Newsletter features an update on our work to scale-up evidence-based tutoring; an op-ed from J-PAL affiliate James Sullivan on wraparound support services for community college students; and an op-ed from J-PAL staff on how to leverage evidence to reduce homelessness.

These Nobel Prize-winning economists explain why direct cash transfers are so vital to fighting poverty

J-PAL co-founders and Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee discuss the benefits of universal basic income and direct cash transfers at the Fast Company Innovation Festival.