The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center dedicated to reducing poverty through evidence-based policy. With a network of over 870 researchers worldwide, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to tackle crucial questions in the fight against poverty. J-PAL works with affiliated professors based at 97 universities, who conduct evaluations globally to design, evaluate, and improve poverty reduction programs and policies.

These professors independently set their research agendas, secure funding, and collaborate with J-PAL staff on research, policy outreach, and training. To further their mission, J-PAL collaborates with NGOs, governments, donors, multilateral organizations, businesses, and research centers to conduct randomized evaluations, build research capacity, scale up successful interventions, and promote evidence-based decision making. J-PAL's initiatives focus on priority areas where rigorous policy-relevant research is urgently required.

They also organize global and online events to share results and policy lessons, foster partnerships between researchers and practitioners, and provide training on conducting impactful evaluations. Headquartered at MIT in Cambridge, MA, J-PAL has regional offices in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Each office works towards poverty reduction within its respective region.

J-PAL's sector programs, led by affiliated professors, conduct literature reviews, manage research initiatives, and provide cost-effectiveness analyses. These sectors cover a wide range of areas, such as agriculture, crime, violence, and conflict, education, environment and climate change, finance, firms, gender, health, labor markets, political economy, governance, and social protection. As a leader in poverty reduction research, J-PAL is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within the field of economics and its own operations.

Through scientific evidence and collaboration, J-PAL strives to inform and shape effective policies to alleviate poverty on a global scale