The Poverty Action Lab was founded in 2003 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by professors Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Sendhil Mullainathan, with the goal of transforming how the world approaches the challenges of global poverty. In 2005 the lab was named in honor of Abdul Latif Jameel, the father of MIT alumnus Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel and founder of the Abdul Latif Jameel company. J-PAL receives continued support from Community Jameel, an organization established in 2003 to continue the Jameel family’s tradition of supporting social and economic sustainability.
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 181 affiliated professors at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
At J-PAL, we believe investing in rigorous research is essential to finding solutions to the world’s greatest challenges. Working with implementing partners, J-PAL’s affiliated professors conduct randomized impact evaluations to test and improve the effectiveness of social programs.
J-PAL translates research into action, promoting a culture of evidence-informed policymaking around the world. Our policy analysis and outreach helps governments, NGOs, donors, and the private sector apply evidence from randomized evaluations to their work, and contributes to public discourse around some of the most pressing questions in social policy and international development.
