The Evidence Effect

What we’ve learned from working with the private sector for inclusive growth

Workers in a ptivate garment factory

The private sector is a fundamental force for driving global prosperity. For corporations and investors, there’s enormous opportunity in low- and middle-income countries’ growing markets and talent. What’s less clear is how to partner most effectively for maximum impact: How can multinationals, local businesses, investors, governments, and catalytic donor capital work together to deliver growth, expand access to higher-income jobs, and scale market-based solutions?

Read the sixth post in our Evidence Effect series

Evidence in action

The Evidence Effect highlights examples of life-changing programs that warrant more attention, investment, and consideration for scaling. Explore them below, drawn from more than 1,200 completed randomized evaluations led by researchers in our network.

Targeted job training can open doors

Well-designed job training programs help people land better-paying jobs.

Finding and financing businesses that are ready to grow

Tailoring financing for small and mid-sized businesses that are most likely to grow can unlock their potential to increase sales and profits, create jobs, and strengthen the local

Soft skills training leads to success

Soft skills training can help people get and keep jobs, improve performance at work, and increase business profits—but design matters.

Making markets work for small businesses

Helping small and mid-sized businesses make connections with new buyers, and with each other, leads to growth, higher productivity, and better jobs.

Making markets work for farmers

Stronger connections between farmers and buyers enable farmers to invest and earn more.

Rethink microcredit for greater impacts

Innovations in microcredit design can improve business growth and borrower wellbeing. 

Bringing crop innovation from the lab to farmers’ fields

Flood-tolerant seeds help farmers adapt to extreme weather without sacrificing their yields, making investing in change worthwhile. 

Effective and fair taxation

Governments can adopt high- and low-tech approaches to raise resources through improved taxation.

Mobile phone monitoring for better government services

Phone-based monitoring is a cheap, accessible way to ensure government service providers are doing their jobs well.

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo joint headshot

The objectives of aid are often unclear.... Reaffirming the most basic principle would provide clarity: The goal should be to invest in projects that will have the largest impact on the quality of life of poor people around the world.

—Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, The Financial Times, March 2025

Discover more perspectives from the J-PAL network

 


Photos: 

(1) Two farmers uproot rice seedlings for transplantation during monsoon season in India. Credit: Shutterstock.com

(2) A woman laughs as an enumerator measures her height in her home in Borong, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The measurement was part of an impact evaluation of an information campaign focused on preventing malnutrition. Credit: Miranda Putri, J-PAL

(3) Credit: Official, Shutterstock.com