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?
Susan Godlonton is an Associate Professor of Economics at Williams College. Her research focuses on economic development in Africa, with specific interests in preventative health care, transitions to work, and agricultural productivity.
Tanguy Bernard is a Professor at the University of Bordeaux. His research interests include development economics, agricultural economics, and African studies.
Hamza Rkaina is a Senior Finance & Operations Associate at the UM6P J-PAL Agriculture Lab for Africa (UJALA), where he manages the financial and operational aspects of funded projects within the UJALA lab. He oversees budget management, financial reporting to donors, and the efficient execution of...
Join our 60-minute webinar on January 6 at 9:00 AM ET to learn about our online course offerings, explore financial aid options, and have your questions answered live by the DEDP course team.
Roland Rathelot is a Researcher at the Centre de Recherche en Economie Statistique (CREST). His areas of interest include labor economics, public economics and economics of immigration, with a particular focus on the spatial dimension. He is currently conducting randomized evaluations of counseling...
Sandip Sukhtankar is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Virginia. His research interests lie at the intersection of development, political economy, and public economics, with a focus on corruption and governance issues. Most of his field work is based in India.
Sara Heller is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan. She studies policy interventions aimed at reducing crime and improving life outcomes of low-income youth.
Sarah Baird is a Professor of Global Health and Economics and Vice Chair in the Department of Global Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.
Seema Jayachandran is a Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University and Co-Chair of J-PAL's Gender sector. Her research focuses on economic issues in developing countries, including environmental conservation, gender equality, labor markets, health, and education.
Selim Gulesci is an Associate Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin. His research investigates the intersection of labor and development economics, with particular focus on entrepreneurship and the role of gender norms in limiting women’s productivity.
Sendhil Mullainathan is the Peter de Florez Professor at MIT with Dual Appointment in Economics and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), and Co-Chair of J-PAL's Partnership for AI Evidence. His current research uses machine learning to understand complex problems in human behavior...