J-PAL

"How much of AI is real and how much is hype?" @iqbaldhali at the India AI Impact Summit, where the focus has shifted from existential risks to what's possible. If deployed correctly, AI has tremendous potential in health, education, agriculture, and climate.

Currency swings shape who can borrow, invest, and grow. New on @vox_dev: how currency risk connects international finance to real development outcomes. 🔗 voxdev.org/topic/finance/…

@rema_nadeem @Ben_Olken @JPAL_SEA Read more about how digitizing social services in Indonesia transformed a national safety net from evidence to policy 👇 povertyactionlab.org/case-study/dig…

@rema_nadeem @Ben_Olken The scale-up is anchored by a deep partnership: the Indonesian government drives and funds the program, while @JPAL_SEA contributes expertise and research insights to ensure the system continues to reach the most vulnerable.

Social safety nets are vital for reducing poverty, but in-kind food aid can be difficult to manage and prone to leakage. 📦❌ Indonesia decided to fix this by going digital. Here's what happened. 🧵👇

Happy Spring from all of us at @JPAL! We got together recently to ring in the warmer weather. I am lucky to work with the most wonderful (and stylish) colleagues. To see what we're excited about for the year ahead, read our annual report here: povertyactionlab.org/2025/improving…

What will it take to close Africa's finance gap? Our new blog series explores 5 priority areas for inclusive finance, from AI-driven credit to currency risk. 🧵 povertyactionlab.org/blog?region=Al…

🚀 18.8 million households now receive digital food vouchers in Indonesia 🇮🇩 The Government of Indonesia & @JPAL_SEA scaled Program Sembako, improving how aid reached those who needed it most and reducing admin costs: povertyactionlab.org/case-study/dig…

Shifting loan repayment deadlines can boost farmers’ profits. Our Agriculture Co-Chair @Craig McIntosh breaks down why, and what works best in a new @VoxDev podcast based on our latest policy insight. More here: bit.ly/49n9puV

Excited to announce Frontiers of Applied Economics—a new elective in the DEDP MicroMasters Program with @MITxCourses! This masters-level course covers topics in public finance, market design, labor economics, transportation & more. Learn from 6 distinguished MIT professors over 11 weeks. Free to audit or earn a certificate. Enroll today: bit.ly/3P12CjC

📊 Switching from food parcels to digital vouchers cut poverty by 20% among Indonesia's poorest households 🇮🇩 J-PAL affiliates Abhijit Banerjee, @rema_nadeem, @Ben_Olken, & co-authors show how evidence drives change. Learn about the journey from evidence → scale: povertyactionlab.org/case-study/dig…

📊 How do you know if your program is achieving its goals? Designing and Running Randomized Evaluations is an online course that equips you with the tools to rigorously measure impact and explore practical topics like questionnaire design, sampling, and research ethics. Learn from MIT professors, including Nobel laureate Esther Duflo and J-PAL affiliated researchers. Free to audit and packed with real-world examples. Enroll now: bit.ly/3RhFRbU

📖 Interested in understanding how politics impacts economic development? In Political Economy and Economic Development, you’ll explore topics like voting, corruption, and media, with real-world examples and practical insights. Free to audit, with an option to earn a certificate. Start learning today: bit.ly/4df062w

Making workplaces safer, healthier, and more productive should be a goal of every business. This May Day, we’re highlighting evidence on how to make that happen. Last year, we synthesized 21 studies to discover what actually succeeds in improving workers’ well-being. The findings include: - A boost in productivity and retention in China when supervisors encouraged open discussions among team members - An increase in promotions and professional development in India when women in the garment industry received soft skills training - Challenges to discriminatory beliefs in Bangladesh when women were deliberately promoted to supervisory roles Explore the insight to learn more about how we can support workers around the world: bit.ly/4wjkc3o

📊 Interested in learning or strengthening your data analysis skills? Enroll in Data Analysis for Social Scientists. This 11-week course, taught by Esther Duflo and Sara Fisher Ellison, covers probability, statistics, and modern data analysis techniques with real-world applications. Free to audit, with an option to earn a certificate. Learn more and enroll: bit.ly/3uHWDCX

What influences the cost of food, education, or healthcare? How do policies impact essential public services? Explore these questions and more in Microeconomics, an online course in the Data, Economics, and Design of Policy MicroMasters program. 📚Enroll today: bit.ly/3Jg6ZOQ

🌍 Why are some countries poor, and some countries rich? Should the United States trade more or less with China? Join Nobel laureates and J-PAL co-founders Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo in “Good Economics for Hard Times,” a DEDP Micromasters course, to learn more. Free to audit with an option to upgrade. Enroll today: bit.ly/4qFBzrl