Researchers from around the region have joined J-PAL’s new regional office in Europe and are helping to spread the message of randomized evaluations. Based at the Paris School of Economics, J-PAL Europe will serve as a focal point on randomized impact evaluations of poverty programs in the region.

J-PAL is partnering with an innovative new French research institution, the Paris School of Economics (PSE). Inaugurated in February 2007 by former prime minister Dominque de Villepin, PSE draws together top-researchers from France’s most prestigious research institutions; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Ecole normale supérieure, École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, École nationale des ponts et chaussées, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique and University of Paris I-Panthéon-Sorbonne. Directed by former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank, François Bourguignon, PSE aims to place France prominently in the international economic debate.

“There is exciting work being done in Europe evaluating the impact of poverty programs. J-PAL Europe will help build connections between the randomized evaluations being done in Europe, the US, and around the world. It will also play a critical role in ensuring that policy responds to this emerging body of evidence”, says Rachel Glennerster, Executive Director of J-PAL. Currently, J-PAL’s Europe network has six members from France, Italy, and Sweden, who run randomized evaluations both in Europe and in low-income countries. Their research varies from assessing the impact of French employment counseling programs, to evaluating the contribution to economic development of a micro-credit program in rural Morocco, or analyzing the impact of a community-based monitoring of primary health care providers program in Uganda.

Thomas Piketty, Professor of Economics and Founder of the Paris School of Economics, notes that "J-PAL Europe is a wonderful initiative and a superb opportunity for the Paris School of Economics, helping to provide transparent data on policies that direct resources efficiently and in an optimal manner."

J-PAL Europe will also serve as a focal point for disseminating the results of randomized evaluations to policymakers in Europe. Next spring, J-PAL Europe will run an executive training program on randomized evaluation methodology in Paris. The office will also recruit European research assistants to be sent to the field, expanding research opportunities.

J-PAL Europe, directed by Professor Esther Duflo and headed by Ms. Elizabeth Beasley, is under the umbrella of MIT-France. J-PAL Europe is the second regional office to be opened this year. Based in India, J-PAL South Asia at IFMR was launched in July 2007 to establish a local presence and build our growing partnerships and projects in the region. For more information about J-PAL Europe, please visit: http://www.povertyactionlab.org/europe/.