The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab

Our mission is to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. We do this through research, policy outreach, and training.

Update

Standing in Solidarity with Black Communities

We at J-PAL North America grieve and condemn the ongoing displays of police violence and systemic racism in the United States and acknowledge the physical and emotional distress they cause. This grief and trauma is especially deep for Black communities, and for our staff, partners, and affiliated researchers who belong to them.

A man stands behind a counter that displays phone cards in a small shop. A woman sits in front of the counter typing on a laptop.

Blog

How digital financial services and e-commerce can help curb the impact of COVID-19 on people's livelihoods

For those in Indonesia with access to mobile phones and digital literacy, e-commerce and digital financial services may help people to maintain their livelihoods. Not only do digital financial services offer a fast and contactless means of payment and transfer, but evidence from around the world has...

COVID-19 advisory

News

Cushioning the poor from the COVID-19 shock

In an op-ed for Project Syndicate, Rema Hanna and Ben Olken explain that expanding social protection to reach the most vulnerable people must be a pillar of every country’s COVID-19 strategy.

A roadside billboard that reads "stay home, limit travel, save lives"

Blog

Increasing adherence to COVID-19 guidelines: Lessons from existing evidence

J-PAL health sector co-chairs and staff discuss some general lessons from the evidence for increasing uptake of healthy behaviors and improving the delivery of health products and services.

J-PAL affiliated researchers have 1018 ongoing and completed randomized evaluations in 84 countries

Tweets by @jpal

J-PAL Africa seeks a Cape Town-based Senior Data Associate to support the development and work of the J-PAL Africa IDEA Lab. J-PAL’s Innovations in Data and Experiments for Action (IDEA) initiative supports governments, firms, and non-profit organizations who want to make their administrative data accessible to researchers; analyze it to improve decision-making; and use it to design and evaluate innovative programs that contribute to alleviating poverty. The J-PAL Africa IDEA Lab is being established to support this work in South Africa through long-term partnerships with local governments and other data providers. Learn more and apply: https://www.povertyactionlab.org/careers/senior-data-associate-j-pal-africa-103328

June 30th
June 30th
Research from the World Health Organization suggests incidences of emotional, physical, and sexual violence are likely to increase as women are confined to their homes by COVID-19 lockdown measures. How can existing evidence inform the design of new programs to combat intimate partner violence? j-p.al/gbv

June 18th
*Register for J-PAL's free, open, and virtual Evaluating Social Programs series in June!* Our flagship ExecEd course, Evaluating Social Programs, equips participants with the resources and knowledge to design, use, and interpret evidence from impact evaluations of social programs. Due to COVID-19, this year we are offering taste of the Evaluating Social Programs course through a series of five webinars, free and open to the public. Check out the attached agenda, and register here: https://j-p.al/j8t

May 29th
Earlier this year, J-PAL Europe, Fondation Tocqueville, and Community Jameel hosted a forum on harnessing the power of rigorous evidence to promote the social inclusion of migrants in Europe. 📽️ Here’s a look back at what went on:

May 26th

Resources for adapting to phone surveys during COVID-19

Over the past few months, we’ve developed new resources on transitioning to phone surveys, with guides that span from budgeting to remote trainings to quality assurance best practices. They are...

1 week 4 days ago

Considerations for collecting electronic signatures

Since the spread of COVID-19, researchers across the globe have experienced the challenges of conducting research in a socially distant manner. This blog provides an overview of how to obtain...

1 week 6 days ago

Data collection at J-PAL Africa: Spotlight on field officers

Field officers play a vital role in J-PAL Africa’s research projects. I interviewed three team members who have been involved in multiple J-PAL Africa research projects in Johannesburg over the years...

2 weeks ago

How prioritizing health in schools can also promote learning

As communities and governments find new and resilient ways to support families during the pandemic, schools have stood out as useful nodes within communities. For example, schools or Ministries of...

2 weeks ago

Celebrating a milestone: 1,000 randomized evaluations by J-PAL affiliates

Back in February of this year, J-PAL hit a milestone: our affiliates collectively conducted over 1,000 randomized evaluations. Six months later, we revisit this milestone with a new perspective.

2 weeks 4 days ago