Ideas for the Future of Development : Shared by Niloufar Pourzand

 The Evidence Effect: Ideas for the Future of Development

Iqbal Dhaliwal
J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab), October 2, 2025
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Summary
Iqbal Dhaliwal reflects on 15 years of work at J-PAL to improve the effectiveness of social programs and policies using evidence. While global poverty has declined, nearly 700 million people still live on less than $2.15 a day, raising urgent questions about the impacts and efficiency of development spending. The “Evidence Effect” series seeks to place evidence at the center of policy debates, demonstrating how rigorously tested programs can save lives, improve health, and lift families out of poverty. Examples include preventive health distribution, vaccination campaigns, girls’ scholarships, unconditional cash transfers, and the Graduation approach. J-PAL’s research has influenced programs reaching at least 850 million people. Future installments will argue for evidence-driven funding decisions, stronger roles for LMIC governments, capacity building, catalytic foreign aid and philanthropy, private sector engagement, humanitarian effectiveness, and applying evidence-informed policymaking in high-income countries.

Quotes

• “Almost 700 million people—twice the entire population of the United States—still live on less than $2.15 per day.”

• “By a conservative count, at least 850 million people have been reached by the scale-up of programs evaluated by J-PAL researchers alone.”

• “Funding and scaling decisions should be driven more by evidence of impact and cost-effectiveness.”

• “Strengthening government capacity is key to improving outcomes in the long term and reducing the need for foreign assistance.”

• “With fewer resources available, the bar is even higher for deciding which social sector and development programs to invest in. Evidence can help governments, funders, and implementing organizations navigate today’s challenges and make more effective and cost-effective decisions.”