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Cheaper, faster randomized evaluations

J-PAL North America releases new catalog of administrative data sets to give researchers a leg up in conducting rigorous evaluations of social programs.
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J-PAL North America aims to make rigorous evaluation of key questions in social policy easier for researchers with a new catalog.
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J-PAL North America aims to make rigorous evaluation of key questions in social policy easier for researchers with a new catalog.
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Hospitals, governments, school systems, and many other institutions gather a wealth of data on individuals for operational purposes. MIT-based J-PAL North America recently launched a catalog of administrative datasets to provide researchers with clear information on data access and content, including costs and indicators. Together with J-PAL North America’s guide to using administrative data for randomized evaluations, this public catalog will support researchers in carrying out high-quality evaluations.

When equipped with safeguards for privacy, access to administrative data has the potential to reduce research costs, create opportunities for long-term follow-up on intervention impacts, and improve the accuracy of research. As J-PAL North America Executive Director Quentin Palfrey notes in a recent op-ed, access to administrative data can be transformational for researchers looking to conduct policy-relevant studies on key challenges in reducing poverty.

The catalog, which currently features 16 entries, includes datasets related to consumption, criminal justice, education, employment, and health care. This data has been collected at the national, state, and local level. The catalog will continue to grow as new datasets are added.

For those interested in having their organization's dataset featured, or to provide feedback and requests for new entries, contact admindata@povertyactionlab.org.

Press Mentions

Forbes

Quentin Palfrey, executive director of J-PAL North America, speaks with Devin Thorpe of Forbes about how J-PAL aims to reduce poverty through academic research. Palfrey explains that “by transforming government and building a movement for evidence-based policy, we can help lift millions in the United States out of poverty.”

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