Esther Duflo

Esther Duflo serves as the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at MIT and co-directs the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), which she co-founded. After completing her initial degrees in history and economics from Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, she earned her Ph.D. in Economics from MIT in 1999. Her groundbreaking research focuses on understanding the economic lives of people living in poverty, with particular emphasis on health, education, financial inclusion, environment, and governance. She pioneered the use of randomized control trials in development economics, transforming how economists study and address global poverty. Her exceptional contributions earned her the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics (shared with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer), making her both the second woman and youngest person ever to receive this honor. Her other notable accolades include the Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences (2015), MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship (2009), and the John Bates Clark Medal (2010). With Abhijit Banerjee, she authored influential books including "Poor Economics" and "Good Economics for Hard Times," with the former winning the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award in 2011 and being translated into 17 languages. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.