The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,100 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 1,100 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
Our affiliated professors are based at over 130 universities and conduct randomized evaluations around the world to design, evaluate, and improve programs and policies aimed at reducing poverty. They set their own research agendas, raise funds to support their evaluations, and work with J-PAL staff on research, policy outreach, and training.
Our Board of Directors, which is composed of J-PAL affiliated professors and senior management, provides overall strategic guidance to J-PAL, our sector programs, and regional offices.
We host events around the world and online to share results and policy lessons from randomized evaluations, to build new partnerships between researchers and practitioners, and to train organizations on how to design and conduct randomized evaluations, and use evidence from impact evaluations.
Browse news articles about J-PAL and our affiliated professors, read our press releases and monthly global and research newsletters, and connect with us for media inquiries.
Based at leading universities around the world, our experts are economists who use randomized evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty. Connect with us for all media inquiries and we'll help you find the right person to shed insight on your story.
J-PAL is based at MIT in Cambridge, MA and has seven regional offices at leading universities in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
J-PAL is based at MIT in Cambridge, MA and has seven regional offices at leading universities in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Our global office is based at the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It serves as the head office for our network of seven independent regional offices.
Led by affiliated professors, J-PAL sectors guide our research and policy work by conducting literature reviews; by managing research initiatives that promote the rigorous evaluation of innovative interventions by affiliates; and by summarizing findings and lessons from randomized evaluations and producing cost-effectiveness analyses to help inform relevant policy debates.
Led by affiliated professors, J-PAL sectors guide our research and policy work by conducting literature reviews; by managing research initiatives that promote the rigorous evaluation of innovative interventions by affiliates; and by summarizing findings and lessons from randomized evaluations and producing cost-effectiveness analyses to help inform relevant policy debates.
How do policies affecting private sector firms impact productivity gaps between higher-income and lower-income countries? How do firms’ own policies impact economic growth and worker welfare?
How can we identify effective policies and programs in low- and middle-income countries that provide financial assistance to low-income families, insuring against shocks and breaking poverty traps?
We are launching a brand new sector and initiative at J-PAL to generate rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of social protection programs and to help partners apply evidence to high-level decision-making.
Aprille Knox is a Senior Policy Manager at J-PAL Global, where she manages the Crime, Violence, and Conflict sector. As a member of the Policy group, Aprille works with governments, NGOs, academics, and others to build research partnerships and promote evidence-informed policymaking.
Ana-Maria Colina is a Senior Policy Associate at J-PAL Global, where she works on the Crime, Violence, and Conflict sector. In this role, she writes policy publications, supports the Crime and Violence Initiative, and helps develop new research partnerships.
Claire Walsh leads the Policy and Communications group at J-PAL, which collaborates with the J-PAL research network and policymakers to synthesize and share insights from randomized evaluations to inform policy design and scale decisions and advance evidence-informed policy to reduce poverty.
Oeindrila Dube is the Philip K. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at the University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy. She studies poverty and conflict in the developing world.
Chris Blattman is the Ramalee E. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at The University of Chicago, in the Harris School of Public Policy, as well as a research associate at NBER. He studies why some people and societies are poor, violent and unequal, and what (if anything) aid or...
Tarun Timalsina is a Policy Associate at J-PAL Global, where he works with the Political Economy and Governance (PEG) and Crime, Violence, and Conflict (CVC) sectors. Tarun also supports J-PAL Global’s Governance, Crime, and Conflict Initiative (GCCI).
Anna Mysliwiec is a Policy Manager at J-PAL Global, where she manages the Political Economy and Governance sector. In her role on the Policy team, she writes policy publications, cultivates new research partnerships, and conducts policy outreach for evidence dissemination.
Discover how HAPIE, the Hub of Advanced Policy Innovation for the Environment, collaborates with government partners to generate evidence, build capacity, and shape Egypt’s environmental policy through data-driven innovation.
Akhilan is a Research Associate in J-PAL South Asia working on the “Identifying and Nurturing Math Talent” project, which aims to assess the impact of providing self paced, challenging math coursework to students from resource-constrained government schools of Tamil Nadu.
J-PAL South Asia, based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in Chennai, leads J-PAL’s efforts to advance evidence-informed policymaking in the region. By conducting rigorous randomized evaluations, forging impactful strategic partnerships, and scaling effective programs, we...