J-PAL North America, based at MIT, leads J-PAL’s work in the North America region. J-PAL North America conducts randomized evaluations, builds partnerships for evidence-informed policymaking, and helps partners scale up effective programs.

Our work spans a wide range of sectors including health care, housing, criminal justice, education, and economic mobility. We leverage research by affiliated professors from universities across the continent and a full-time staff of researchers, policy experts, and administrative professionals to generate and disseminate rigorous evidence about which anti-poverty social policies work and why.

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Update

March 2024 North America Newsletter

J-PAL North America's March Newsletter features reflections on our recent work and upcoming plans to advance rigorous research on racial equity, including our seven-part blog series on how research plays a critical role in identifying systems and policies that further racial equity. 

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Blog

The LA Homelessness Evaluation Network: Lessons learned from supporting organizations build evidence and evaluation capacity

In this post, J-PAL North America shares lessons learned from homeless service providers who have been participating in our Los Angeles Homelessness Evaluation Network.

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Blog

Centering parents and parenting in randomized evaluations of cash transfers to families

The Baby’s First Years evaluation is a J-PAL-supported study evaluating the impact of poverty alleviation on child development and families. Two researchers involved in Baby’s First Years discuss the importance of centering parents and their experiences to better understand the impact cash payments...

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Blog

Regression to the mean: What it is and why it matters for impact evaluations

Regression to the mean is a statistical phenomenon where extreme outcomes tend to be followed by more moderate outcomes—closer to the mean. In the field of social policy, this could mean that individuals selected to participate in a program because of an extreme signal will naturally return back...