JEDDAH, 14 June 2008 — The Paris School of Economics announced the creation of the “Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab-Europe” (J-PAL Europe) at a conference entitled “Randomized Evaluations of Social Programs” organized by the DARES (the research department of the French Ministry of Labor). J-PAL Europe runs evaluations of public policy using an experimental approach based on that used in scientific disciplines, such as pharmacology and agricultural engineering.
This approach compares one group of individuals that are participating in an economic or social program with a control group that does not participate in the program. Assignment of an individual to one of the two groups is randomized. J-PAL Europe carries out evaluations of anti-poverty programs in Europe and in low and middle-income countries — programs that are seeking to help out schoolchildren in Africa or the unemployed in Europe.
During the conference, the French High Commissioner for Solidarity Against Poverty announced the selection of five projects carried out by J-PAL Europe members to analyze the impact of anti-poverty programs in France. Specialists in public policy experiments participated in the conference by giving academic and operational presentations.
In 2003, Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee, and Sendhil Mullainathan formed the Poverty Action Lab network based at MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology). The network has grown rapidly thanks to the generosity of Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, and in 2005 J-PAL was renamed in honor of Jameel’s father. The establishment of J-PAL Europe at the Paris School of Economics opens the J-PAL network to European researchers.
A one-week training will follow the launch of J-PAL Europe on “Evaluating Social Policy”, which will take place at the Paris School of Economics. The participants from governments, nongovernmental organizations, international organizations and research institutions come from France and Francophone Africa.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah honored Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, president of Abdul Latif Jameel Co. (ALJ) and Abdul Latif Jameel Community Services Programs, for his community services and philanthropic activities at the opening ceremony of the 23rd Culture and Heritage Festival at Janadriya in March.
Jameel has won laurels at home and abroad for his philanthropic activities. The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) — the business-led development organization founded by Britain’s Prince Charles — elected him honorary deputy chairman of its board of trustees and chairman of IBLF Middle East in 2006. As the head of the first Arab company to be represented on the IBLF board as its principal supporter, Jameel was invited to become a trustee of the London-based IBLF in 2004.
The first Bab Rizq (Gateway to Prosperity) Jameel Center, which specializes in creating employment opportunities for women, opened in June 2007 in Jeddah. The center is tasked with offering either financial support for those looking to take on start-up opportunities for small or micro projects and loans for vocational training or offering job vacancies.
Jameel has been the driving force behind the Grameen Jameel Pan Arab Initiative, which aims to reduce poverty through micro credit. The First Arab Microfinance Virtual Academy, the First Arab Small Business Virtual Academy, the ALJ Arab Technology Start-Up Fund, ALJ Rehabilitation Hospital and Specialty Clinics in Jeddah, a program for orphans and another for interfaith dialogue are among other projects that Jameel has launched.
