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| name = Esther Duflo
| name = Esther Duflo
| birth_name = Esther Duflo
| birth_name = Esther Duflo
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1972|10|25}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|10|25}}
| birth_place = Paris, France
| birth_place = Paris, France
| nationality = French, American
| nationality = French, American
| occupation = Economist, academic
| occupation = Economist, professor
| known_for = Randomized controlled trials in development economics, co-founder of J-PAL
| known_for = Randomized controlled trials in development economics; co-founding the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
| employer = Massachusetts Institute of Technology
| employer = Massachusetts Institute of Technology
| title = Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics
| title = Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics
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'''Esther Duflo''' (born 25 October 1972) is a French-American economist who holds the position of Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT). In 2019, she was jointly awarded the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences]] alongside her husband [[Abhijit Banerjee]] and [[Michael Kremer]] "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty," making her, at the age of 46, the youngest person ever to receive the economics Nobel and only the second woman to do so.<ref name="britannica">{{cite web |title=Esther Duflo |url=https://www.britannica.com/money/Esther-Duflo |publisher=Britannica |date= |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> Duflo is the co-founder and co-director of the [[Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab]] (J-PAL), a research center based at MIT that has promoted the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effectiveness of social programs and policy interventions across the developing world. As of 2020, programs tested by J-PAL-affiliated researchers had reached more than 400 million people.<ref name="imf">{{cite web |title=Poverty Fighters: Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo - IMF F&D |url=https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/06/mit-poverty-fighters-abhijit-banerjee-and-esther-duflo |publisher=International Monetary Fund |date= |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> Her research focuses on the microeconomics of development, encompassing topics such as household behavior, education, financial inclusion, political economy, gender, and health. Together with Banerjee, she co-authored ''Poor Economics'' (2011) and ''Good Economics for Hard Times'' (2019), both of which brought development economics to a broad public audience.<ref name="pooreconomics">{{cite web |title=About the Book |url=http://www.pooreconomics.com/about-book |publisher=Poor Economics |date= |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> Since 2024, Duflo has also served as president of the Paris School of Economics, and in October 2025, the University of Zurich announced that she and Banerjee would join the faculty of the UZH School of Business, Economics, and Informatics in July 2026.
'''Esther Duflo''' (born 25 October 1972) is a French-American economist who holds the position of Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT). In 2019, she was jointly awarded the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences]] alongside her husband, [[Abhijit Banerjee]], and [[Michael Kremer]], "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty."<ref name="britannica">{{cite web |title=Esther Duflo |url=https://www.britannica.com/money/Esther-Duflo |publisher=Britannica |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> At the age of 46, Duflo became the youngest person and only the second woman ever to receive the Nobel in Economics.<ref name="britannica" /> She is the co-founder and co-director of the [[Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab]] (J-PAL), a research center based at MIT that promotes the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effectiveness of social programs and policies aimed at reducing poverty. As of 2020, more than 400 million people had been affected by programs tested by J-PAL-affiliated researchers.<ref name="imf">{{cite web |title=Poverty Fighters: Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo |url=https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/06/mit-poverty-fighters-abhijit-banerjee-and-esther-duflo |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> Together with Banerjee, Duflo co-authored the books ''Poor Economics'' (2011) and ''Good Economics for Hard Times'' (2019), both of which brought development economics research to a broad public audience.<ref name="pooreconomics">{{cite web |title=About the Book |url=http://www.pooreconomics.com/about-book |publisher=Poor Economics |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


== Early Life ==
== Early Life ==


Esther Duflo was born on 25 October 1972 in Paris, France.<ref name="britannica" /> She grew up in a Protestant family in Paris. Her mother was a pediatrician who was involved in medical humanitarian work, an engagement that Duflo has cited as an early influence on her interest in the problems of poverty and development in lower-income countries.<ref name="bbntimes">{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=Esther Duflo: Trailblazing Economist, Nobel Laureate, and Pioneer in Fighting Global Poverty |url=https://www.bbntimes.com/global-economy/esther-duflo-trailblazing-economist-nobel-laureate-and-pioneer-in-fighting-global-poverty |work=BBN Times |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> Her father was a mathematics professor. From an early age, Duflo was exposed to conversations about inequality, access to healthcare, and the challenges facing communities in the developing world.
Esther Duflo was born on 25 October 1972 in Paris, France.<ref name="britannica" /> She grew up in a Protestant family in France. Her mother was a pediatrician who was involved in medical humanitarian work, which exposed the young Duflo to questions of global poverty and the challenges faced by people in developing countries from an early age.<ref name="hbr">{{cite web |title=Life's Work: An Interview with Esther Duflo |url=https://hbr.org/2025/11/lifes-work-an-interview-with-esther-duflo |work=Harvard Business Review |date=October 2025 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> Duflo has spoken publicly about how her mother's involvement in charitable and medical work in developing nations influenced her own intellectual trajectory and her eventual decision to pursue a career in economics focused on poverty alleviation.<ref name="hbr" />


In an interview with the ''Harvard Business Review'', Duflo discussed why she became an economist, noting the intellectual appeal of combining rigorous empirical methods with questions of direct social relevance.<ref name="hbr">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2025-10-13 |title=Life's Work: An Interview with Esther Duflo |url=https://hbr.org/2025/11/lifes-work-an-interview-with-esther-duflo |work=Harvard Business Review |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> She has spoken publicly about the influence of her upbringing in shaping her conviction that poverty is not an intractable problem but rather one amenable to evidence-based solutions. Her mother's involvement in providing medical care in developing countries gave Duflo an early awareness that the provision of basic services—schools, clinics, clean water—could have measurable effects on people's lives.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=Quote of the day by Esther Duflo |url=https://m.economictimes.com/us/news/quote-of-the-day-by-esther-duflo-the-logic-is-that-when-you-provide-schools-or-any-social-service-to-people-they-have-no-choice-/articleshow/128744224.cms |work=The Economic Times |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Growing up in France, Duflo was educated in the French academic system, which provided her with a rigorous foundation in mathematics and the social sciences. Her early intellectual interests were broad, encompassing history and the humanities as well as the sciences. However, it was her exposure to the realities of global inequality—partly through her mother's experiences—that gradually drew her toward economics as a discipline that could offer practical solutions to the problem of poverty.<ref name="bbntimes">{{cite web |title=Esther Duflo: Trailblazing Economist, Nobel Laureate, and Pioneer in Fighting Global Poverty |url=https://www.bbntimes.com/global-economy/esther-duflo-trailblazing-economist-nobel-laureate-and-pioneer-in-fighting-global-poverty |publisher=BBN Times |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


Duflo's early intellectual formation in Paris, where she attended the prestigious École Normale Supérieure, grounded her in the French tradition of combining history, philosophy, and the social sciences. This interdisciplinary background would later inform her distinctive approach to economic research, which emphasizes fieldwork, experimental design, and close engagement with the communities she studies.
Duflo has noted in interviews that she did not initially set out to become an economist. Her path to the field was shaped by a combination of intellectual curiosity and a desire to address real-world problems with empirical rigor. In her own account, she was drawn to economics because it offered tools for understanding and intervening in the conditions that perpetuate poverty, rather than simply describing them.<ref name="hbr" />


== Education ==
== Education ==


Duflo studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where she received a broad education in the humanities and social sciences before focusing on economics.<ref name="britannica" /> She subsequently pursued graduate studies in the United States, enrolling in the doctoral program in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT, she was advised by [[Abhijit Banerjee]] and [[Joshua Angrist]], both of whom were influential figures in the application of empirical methods to economics.<ref name="bbntimes" /> Her doctoral work at MIT focused on development economics, and she completed her PhD in economics from the institution. The pairing of Banerjee's expertise in development economics and Angrist's contributions to econometric methodology provided Duflo with a rigorous methodological foundation that would become the hallmark of her subsequent career. Her time at MIT as a graduate student marked the beginning of a long professional and personal partnership with Banerjee, with whom she would later collaborate on dozens of research projects, co-found J-PAL, co-author two books, and eventually share the Nobel Prize.
Duflo pursued her undergraduate studies in France, attending the prestigious [[École Normale Supérieure]] in Paris, where she studied history and economics.<ref name="britannica" /> She subsequently earned a master's degree in economics from the DELTA program (now part of the [[Paris School of Economics]]).<ref name="bbntimes" />
 
Duflo then moved to the United States to pursue doctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she completed her PhD in economics in 1999.<ref name="britannica" /> Her doctoral advisors at MIT were Abhijit Banerjee—who would become her long-term research collaborator and, later, her husband—and Joshua Angrist, both influential figures in the application of empirical methods to economic questions.<ref name="bbntimes" /> Her doctoral research focused on development economics and employed the kind of field-experimental methodology that would come to define her career.


== Career ==
== Career ==


=== Early Academic Career and Founding of J-PAL ===
=== Academic Positions at MIT ===
 
After completing her PhD in 1999, Duflo joined the MIT Department of Economics as a faculty member, beginning a career-long association with the institution.<ref name="britannica" /> She rose through the academic ranks and was appointed to the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics chair, a named professorship that reflects her central focus on understanding and reducing global poverty.<ref name="britannica" />
 
Duflo's research has focused on the microeconomics of development and has spanned a range of topics including household behavior, education, financial inclusion, political economy, gender, and health.<ref name="britannica" /> Her work is characterized by the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs)—a methodology adapted from clinical medicine—to evaluate the effectiveness of specific interventions aimed at improving the lives of the poor. This approach represented a significant methodological shift in development economics, moving the field away from reliance on broad theoretical models and toward granular, evidence-based assessments of what actually works in practice.<ref name="imf" />
 
According to the Open Syllabus Project, Duflo is the seventh most frequently cited author on college syllabi for economics courses, reflecting her substantial influence on the teaching of the discipline.<ref name="bbntimes" />
 
In October 2025, the University of Zurich announced that Duflo and Banerjee would be joining the faculty of the UZH School of Business, Economics, and Informatics in July 2026.<ref name="britannica" /> Since 2024, Duflo has also served as the president of the [[Paris School of Economics]], alongside her continuing appointment at MIT.<ref name="bbntimes" />
 
=== Founding of J-PAL ===


After completing her PhD, Duflo joined the MIT economics faculty, where she rose rapidly through the academic ranks. Her early research focused on using randomized controlled trials—a methodology more commonly associated with medical research—to evaluate the effectiveness of development interventions in areas such as education, healthcare, and microcredit.<ref name="imf" /> This approach represented a significant methodological shift in development economics, which had historically relied more heavily on observational data, cross-country regressions, and theoretical modeling.
In 2003, Duflo co-founded the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT, together with Abhijit Banerjee and Sendhil Mullainathan.<ref name="jpal">{{cite web |title=Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab |url=http://www.povertyactionlab.com/ |publisher=J-PAL |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> J-PAL is a global research center that works to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. The lab's core mission is to promote the use of randomized evaluations—rigorous field experiments—to test the effectiveness of programs and policies designed to help the poor.<ref name="jpal" />


In 2003, Duflo co-founded the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT together with Abhijit Banerjee and Sendhil Mullainathan.<ref>{{cite web |title=J-PAL |url=http://www.povertyactionlab.com/ |publisher=Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab |date= |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> Named after the father of Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, a Saudi businessman and MIT alumnus who provided the founding endowment, J-PAL became the institutional backbone of a global movement to apply experimental methods to questions of poverty alleviation. Under Duflo's co-directorship, J-PAL grew into a network of affiliated researchers conducting randomized evaluations across dozens of countries in Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.
Under Duflo's co-directorship, J-PAL has grown into one of the most influential institutions in development economics. The lab has a network of affiliated researchers who have conducted hundreds of randomized evaluations across dozens of countries, covering topics such as education, health, governance, agriculture, labor markets, and financial access.<ref name="imf" /> As of 2020, more than 400 million people had been reached by programs and policies that were scaled up or informed by evidence from J-PAL-affiliated research.<ref name="imf" />


The core premise behind J-PAL's work was that well-intentioned development programs often fail because they are not rigorously tested before being scaled up. By running randomized controlled trials—in which communities or individuals are randomly assigned to receive or not receive a particular intervention—researchers could isolate the causal effects of specific policies on outcomes such as school attendance, vaccination rates, savings behavior, or agricultural productivity. As of 2020, J-PAL reported that more than 400 million people had been reached by programs informed by its research.<ref name="imf" />
The impact of J-PAL's work extends beyond academic research. The lab actively engages with governments, NGOs, and international organizations to translate research findings into actionable policy recommendations. This "evidence-to-policy" pipeline has been central to Duflo's vision for the role of economics in the fight against poverty.<ref name="imf" />
 
Duflo has articulated the philosophy underlying J-PAL's approach in numerous public statements. In her view, the provision of social services to people in poverty is essential precisely because poverty limits the choices available to families, who cannot afford essential services like education and healthcare on their own and must rely on state provisions.<ref name="economictimes">{{cite news |title=Quote of the day by Esther Duflo |url=https://m.economictimes.com/us/news/quote-of-the-day-by-esther-duflo-the-logic-is-that-when-you-provide-schools-or-any-social-service-to-people-they-have-no-choice-/articleshow/128744224.cms |work=The Economic Times |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


=== Research Contributions ===
=== Research Contributions ===


Duflo's research spans a wide range of topics within development economics, including education, health, financial inclusion, gender, political economy, and household behavior.<ref name="britannica" /> A significant body of her work has examined the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve educational outcomes in developing countries. Her studies have investigated questions such as whether reducing class sizes improves learning, how the hiring of additional teachers affects student performance, and what role incentive structures play in teacher attendance and effort.
Duflo's research has made substantial contributions to the understanding of how specific interventions can improve outcomes for the poor in developing countries. Her work, much of it conducted in collaboration with Banerjee and other J-PAL-affiliated researchers, has addressed a wide array of policy-relevant questions.


In the area of health economics, Duflo and her collaborators have conducted experiments evaluating strategies to increase immunization rates, improve access to clean water, and encourage the adoption of preventive health behaviors. Their work demonstrated that small nudges—such as providing lentils as an incentive for parents to bring children to immunization camps—could produce large increases in vaccination rates, challenging the assumption that low uptake was primarily driven by lack of information or cultural resistance.
In the field of '''education''', Duflo and her collaborators have conducted randomized evaluations to assess the effectiveness of different approaches to improving educational outcomes in developing countries. Their research has examined the impact of teacher incentives, class size reductions, remedial education programs, and information provision on student performance and enrollment rates. These studies have provided policymakers with concrete evidence about which educational interventions yield measurable improvements and which do not.<ref name="imf" />


Duflo's work on microfinance and financial inclusion has also been influential. Through a series of randomized evaluations, she and her co-authors examined the impacts of access to microcredit on household welfare, business investment, and consumption patterns. Their findings provided a more nuanced picture than the often celebratory narrative surrounding microfinance, showing that while access to credit could be beneficial, it was not a panacea for poverty reduction.
In '''health''', Duflo's research has investigated barriers to the adoption of preventive health measures, such as vaccination and bed net usage, among poor populations. Her work has shown that small incentives and nudges can dramatically increase take-up rates for health interventions, challenging the assumption that lack of demand is the primary barrier to health improvements in developing countries.<ref name="imf" />


Her research on gender and political economy includes studies of the effects of political representation by women. In one notable line of research conducted in India, Duflo and her collaborators took advantage of a constitutional amendment requiring that one-third of village council leader positions be reserved for women. They found that female-led village councils invested differently from male-led councils, allocating more resources to public goods that women valued more highly, such as drinking water infrastructure.<ref name="bbntimes" />
Duflo has also contributed to research on '''financial inclusion''', examining how access to savings accounts, microcredit, and insurance products affects the economic behavior and well-being of poor households. Her work in this area has nuanced the debate around microfinance, providing evidence on both its potential benefits and its limitations.<ref name="britannica" />


Duflo has articulated a view that poverty constrains household choices in fundamental ways. As she has noted, when families live in poverty, they cannot afford essential services such as education and healthcare and must rely on state provisions to access these services.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=Quote of the day by Esther Duflo |url=https://m.economictimes.com/us/news/quote-of-the-day-by-esther-duflo-the-logic-is-that-when-you-provide-schools-or-any-social-service-to-people-they-have-no-choice-/articleshow/128744224.cms |work=The Economic Times |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> This perspective has informed much of her experimental work, which often focuses on how the design and delivery of public services can be optimized to better serve the poor.
In the area of '''governance and political economy''', Duflo has studied the effects of political reservation systems (such as those in India that reserve leadership positions for women) on policy outcomes and gender norms. Her research has shown that exposure to female political leaders can change attitudes toward women in positions of authority, with implications for gender equality more broadly.<ref name="britannica" />


=== Publications ===
=== Publications ===


Together with Abhijit Banerjee, Duflo co-authored ''Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty'', published in April 2011.<ref name="pooreconomics" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty |url=https://www.amazon.com/Poor-Economics-Radical-Rethinking-Poverty/dp/1586487981 |publisher=Amazon |date= |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> The book drew on their extensive fieldwork and experimental research to challenge conventional wisdom about poverty and the effectiveness of aid. Rather than engaging in the broad "big push" versus "aid doesn't work" debate that had dominated development discourse, Banerjee and Duflo argued for a granular, evidence-based approach that examined specific interventions and their measurable effects on the lives of the poor. ''Poor Economics'' received critical acclaim and won the ''Financial Times'' and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award in 2011.
Together with Abhijit Banerjee, Duflo co-authored ''Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty'', published in April 2011.<ref name="pooreconomics" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty |url=https://www.amazon.com/Poor-Economics-Radical-Rethinking-Poverty/dp/1586487981 |publisher=Amazon |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> The book synthesizes findings from years of randomized evaluations conducted by Duflo, Banerjee, and their collaborators, presenting evidence on what works and what does not in the fight against poverty. ''Poor Economics'' received international attention and was awarded the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award in 2011.


Their second book, ''Good Economics for Hard Times'', was published in November 2019, shortly after the Nobel Prize announcement. The book addressed a broader set of economic policy questions, including immigration, trade, inequality, and climate change, applying the same empirical sensibility to topics of pressing public concern. According to the Open Syllabus Project, Duflo is the seventh most frequently cited author on college syllabi for economics courses, reflecting the widespread adoption of her work in university teaching.
In November 2019, Duflo and Banerjee published their second co-authored book, ''Good Economics for Hard Times'', which addressed a broader set of economic questions—including immigration, trade, technological change, and inequality—through the lens of rigorous empirical evidence.<ref name="britannica" /> The book argued for a more evidence-based approach to public policy debates, drawing on the authors' research and that of other economists.


=== The Nobel Prize ===
Duflo has also authored or co-authored a large number of academic papers published in leading economics journals. Her work is among the most cited in the field of development economics.


On 14 October 2019, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that Duflo, Banerjee, and Michael Kremer had been jointly awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty."<ref name="britannica" /> The Nobel committee cited their work in transforming development economics into a more experimental and evidence-based field. At 46, Duflo became the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Prize in Economics and only the second woman, after [[Elinor Ostrom]] in 2009.
=== Institutional Roles ===


In her Nobel lecture, Duflo discussed the potential and limitations of the experimental approach, emphasizing that while randomized controlled trials cannot answer every question in development economics, they provide a critical tool for building credible evidence about what works and what does not. She also spoke about the importance of using evidence to inform policy at scale, a theme central to J-PAL's mission.
In addition to her academic appointment at MIT and her leadership of J-PAL, Duflo holds a number of other institutional positions. She is a Research Associate of the [[National Bureau of Economic Research]] (NBER), a board member of the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), and the director of the development economics program of the [[Centre for Economic Policy Research]].<ref name="britannica" />


=== Recent Roles and Appointments ===
In November 2025, Duflo was announced as the Chair of the Jury for the inaugural Lafayette Fellowship cycle, a graduate fellowship program organized by [[Villa Albertine]], a French cultural institution in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo Announced as Chair of the Jury for Inaugural Lafayette Fellowship Cycle |url=https://villa-albertine.org/va/press-release/nobel-laureate-esther-duflo-announced-as-chair-of-the-jury-for-inaugural-lafayette-fellowship-cycle/ |publisher=Villa Albertine |date=November 13, 2025 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


In addition to her long-standing appointment at MIT, Duflo took on the presidency of the Paris School of Economics in 2024. She is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a board member of the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), and the director of the development economics program of the Centre for Economic Policy Research.
Since 2024, Duflo has served as president of the Paris School of Economics, reflecting her continued engagement with the French academic and research community.<ref name="bbntimes" />


In October 2025, the University of Zurich announced that Duflo and Banerjee would be joining the faculty of the UZH School of Business, Economics, and Informatics beginning in July 2026. Also in 2025, Duflo was announced as the Chair of the Jury for the inaugural cycle of the Lafayette Fellowship, a distinction organized through Villa Albertine that underscored her standing in international academic and cultural networks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo Announced as Chair of the Jury for Inaugural Lafayette Fellowship Cycle |url=https://villa-albertine.org/va/press-release/nobel-laureate-esther-duflo-announced-as-chair-of-the-jury-for-inaugural-lafayette-fellowship-cycle/ |publisher=Villa Albertine |date=2025-11-13 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
=== Public Engagement and Advocacy ===


Duflo has also engaged in public discourse on the subject of education and careers. Speaking to students, she has cautioned against an excessive focus on acquiring narrowly defined skills, arguing that skills can become obsolete and that a broader intellectual formation may be more valuable in the long run.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=Skills can become obsolete: Why Nobel Prize winner Esther Duflo wants students to stop chasing 'perfect' |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/skills-can-become-obsolete-why-nobel-prize-winner-esther-duflo-wants-students-to-stop-chasing-perfect-careers/articleshow/126607670.cms |work=The Times of India |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Duflo has been active in bringing the findings of development economics research to broader public audiences. In addition to her books, she has delivered numerous public lectures and interviews on the subjects of poverty, education, and economic policy. In a 2025 interview with the ''Harvard Business Review'', Duflo discussed her motivations for becoming an economist, the process by which she and her colleagues popularized the use of randomized controlled trials in the field, and her views on the future of development economics.<ref name="hbr" />
 
Duflo has also spoken publicly about the importance of education systems that prioritize adaptability and curiosity over narrow skills training. In a 2025 address, she urged students to resist the pressure to chase "perfect" careers, arguing that skills can become obsolete and that the ability to learn and adapt is more valuable than any specific credential.<ref>{{cite news |title=Skills can become obsolete: Why Nobel Prize winner Esther Duflo wants students to stop chasing 'perfect' |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/skills-can-become-obsolete-why-nobel-prize-winner-esther-duflo-wants-students-to-stop-chasing-perfect-careers/articleshow/126607670.cms |work=The Times of India |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


== Personal Life ==
== Personal Life ==


Esther Duflo is married to Abhijit Banerjee, her long-time collaborator and fellow Nobel laureate. Banerjee served as her doctoral advisor at MIT, and their professional partnership evolved into a personal one over the course of their years of collaborative research. The couple has two children.<ref name="britannica" />
Esther Duflo is married to Abhijit Banerjee, her long-time research collaborator and co-laureate of the 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.<ref name="britannica" /> Banerjee was also her doctoral advisor at MIT. Together, they have two children.<ref name="britannica" /> The couple's professional and personal partnership has been the subject of considerable public and media interest, particularly following their joint receipt of the Nobel Prize.


Duflo holds dual French and American citizenship.<ref name="britannica" /> She and Banerjee reside in the United States, where both maintain their appointments at MIT, though their work regularly takes them to field research sites across the developing world, particularly in India and sub-Saharan Africa. In a 2025 interview with the ''Harvard Business Review'', Duflo reflected on the interplay between her personal and professional life, including how she and Banerjee manage their parallel roles as co-researchers, co-authors, and spouses.<ref name="hbr" />
Duflo holds both French and American nationality.<ref name="britannica" /> She has maintained strong ties to France throughout her career, serving as president of the Paris School of Economics since 2024 and participating in French cultural and academic initiatives.<ref name="bbntimes" />


== Recognition ==
== Recognition ==


Duflo has received numerous awards and honors over the course of her career. Prior to the Nobel Prize, she was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal in 2010 by the American Economic Association, given annually to an American economist under the age of forty who has made significant contributions to economic thought and knowledge.<ref>{{cite web |title=John Bates Clark Medal |url=http://www.aeaweb.org/honors_awards/clark_medal.php |publisher=American Economic Association |date= |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> She was the first non-American-born economist and the first woman to receive the Clark Medal since its inception in 1947.
Duflo has received numerous awards and honors over the course of her career, reflecting the impact of her research and institutional contributions.
 
In 2009, Duflo was named a [[MacArthur Fellow]], receiving the so-called "genius grant" from the [[John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Meet the 2009 Fellows |url=http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.5410503/k.11CB/Meet_the_2009_Fellows.htm |publisher=John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
 
In 2010, she was awarded the [[John Bates Clark Medal]] by the [[American Economic Association]], which is given to the American economist under the age of 40 who has made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge.<ref>{{cite web |title=John Bates Clark Medal |url=http://www.aeaweb.org/honors_awards/clark_medal.php |publisher=American Economic Association |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> Duflo was the first non-American-born economist and the first woman to receive the Clark Medal.
 
In 2002, Duflo received the Elaine Bennett Research Prize from the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP).<ref>{{cite web |title=Elaine Bennett Research Prize |url=http://www.cswep.org/awards/DufloFinal.htm |publisher=CSWEP |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


In 2002, Duflo received the Elaine Bennett Research Prize from the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP), recognizing outstanding research by a young woman in economics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Elaine Bennett Research Prize |url=http://www.cswep.org/awards/DufloFinal.htm |publisher=CSWEP |date= |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> In 2009, she was named a MacArthur Fellow, receiving the so-called "genius grant" from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Meet the 2009 Fellows |url=http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.5410503/k.11CB/Meet_the_2009_Fellows.htm |publisher=John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation |date= |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
In 2015, she was awarded the [[Princess of Asturias Award]] for Social Sciences, one of Spain's most significant international prizes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Esther Duflo wins Princess of Asturias Social Science prize |url=http://www.euronews.com/2015/05/13/esther-duflo-wins-princess-of-asturias-social-science-prize/ |publisher=Euronews |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2015 - Esther Duflo |url=http://www.fpa.es/en/princess-of-asturias-awards/laureates/2015-esther-duflo.html?especifica=0 |publisher=Fundación Princesa de Asturias |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


In 2015, Duflo was awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences, one of Spain's most prestigious prizes.<ref>{{cite web |title=2015 - Esther Duflo |url=http://www.fpa.es/en/princess-of-asturias-awards/laureates/2015-esther-duflo.html?especifica=0 |publisher=Fundación Princesa de Asturias |date= |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2015-05-13 |title=Esther Duflo wins Princess of Asturias Social Science prize |url=http://www.euronews.com/2015/05/13/esther-duflo-wins-princess-of-asturias-social-science-prize/ |work=Euronews |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> In 2019, she received the Calvó-Armengol International Prize, awarded biennially to a top researcher in economics or the social sciences under the age of 40 (though by 2019, the age limit had been adjusted).<ref>{{cite web |title=Prof. Esther Duflo Wins Calvó-Armengol Prize |url=http://www.barcelonagse.eu/Prof_Esther_Duflo_Wins_Calvo-Armengol_Prize.html |publisher=Barcelona Graduate School of Economics |date= |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
In 2019, Duflo received the Calvó-Armengol International Prize, awarded by the Barcelona School of Economics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Prof. Esther Duflo Wins Calvó-Armengol Prize |url=http://www.barcelonagse.eu/Prof_Esther_Duflo_Wins_Calvo-Armengol_Prize.html |publisher=Barcelona School of Economics |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


Duflo has been elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences<ref>{{cite web |title=Book of Members - Chapter D |url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterD.pdf |publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences |date= |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> and a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA). She has been named to ''Foreign Policy'' magazine's list of Top 100 Global Thinkers on multiple occasions.<ref>{{cite web |title=The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/11/29/the_fp_top_100_global_thinkers?page=full |publisher=Foreign Policy |date= |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The FP 100 Global Thinkers (2012) |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/26/the_fp_100_global_thinkers?page=0,41 |publisher=Foreign Policy |date= |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> ''The Economist'' profiled her as one of the most influential economists of her generation.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=Profile: Esther Duflo |url=http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12851150 |work=The Economist |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> ''Time'' magazine included her in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=Time 100 |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2066367_2066369_2066106,00.html |work=Time |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Duflo has been named to ''[[Foreign Policy]]'' magazine's list of Top 100 Global Thinkers on multiple occasions, including in 2008, 2010, and 2012.<ref>{{cite web |title=The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4293 |publisher=Foreign Policy |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The FP 100 Global Thinkers (2010) |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/11/29/the_fp_top_100_global_thinkers?page=full |publisher=Foreign Policy |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The FP 100 Global Thinkers (2012) |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/26/the_fp_100_global_thinkers?page=0,41 |publisher=Foreign Policy |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
 
In 2008, ''[[The Economist]]'' identified Duflo as one of the top young economists of the decade.<ref>{{cite news |title=Economics focus |url=http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12851150 |work=The Economist |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> In 2011, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 2011 TIME 100 |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2066367_2066369_2066106,00.html |publisher=Time |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
 
Duflo is a Fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Book of Members: Chapter D |url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterD.pdf |publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


== Legacy ==
== Legacy ==


Esther Duflo's work has had a substantial impact on the field of development economics and on the practice of evidence-based policymaking around the world. The approach she helped pioneer—using randomized controlled trials to evaluate social programs—has fundamentally altered how governments, NGOs, and international organizations design and assess interventions aimed at reducing poverty.<ref name="imf" /> Through J-PAL, her research has informed policies on education, health, governance, and financial inclusion in countries across multiple continents.
Esther Duflo's contributions to economics have had a measurable impact on both the academic discipline and the practice of development policy. Her central methodological contribution—the systematic application of randomized controlled trials to evaluate anti-poverty interventions—has transformed the way economists, governments, and international organizations approach questions of development and social policy.<ref name="imf" />


Her doctoral students have gone on to establish prominent research careers of their own, extending the methodological and substantive reach of the experimental approach in economics. Notable former doctoral advisees include Emily Breza, Dean Karlan, Rachael Meager, and Vincent Pons, each of whom has made contributions to fields including development economics, behavioral economics, and political economy.
Through J-PAL, Duflo and her collaborators have built an institutional infrastructure that connects academic research to policy implementation on a global scale. The lab's model of conducting rigorous evaluations and then working with governments and organizations to scale up programs that prove effective has been replicated and adapted by institutions around the world.<ref name="jpal" /> As of 2020, J-PAL's network of affiliated researchers had conducted evaluations affecting the lives of more than 400 million people, a figure that underscores the real-world reach of the lab's work.<ref name="imf" />


Duflo's public-facing work, particularly through ''Poor Economics'' and ''Good Economics for Hard Times'', has brought the insights of development economics to a general readership and contributed to a broader public understanding of poverty as a set of specific, addressable problems rather than an undifferentiated condition. Her status as the youngest Nobel laureate in economics and only the second woman to receive the prize has also made her a prominent figure in discussions about gender representation in the economics profession and in academia more broadly.
Duflo's receipt of the Nobel Prize in 2019, shared with Banerjee and Kremer, marked a significant moment for the field of development economics. The Nobel Committee's recognition of their "experimental approach to alleviating global poverty" affirmed the importance of evidence-based methods in economic research and policy.<ref name="britannica" /> Duflo's status as only the second woman to receive the Nobel in Economics also brought renewed attention to questions of gender representation in the profession.


The institutional infrastructure that Duflo helped build through J-PAL continues to generate new research and policy partnerships. With regional offices on every continent, J-PAL serves as a bridge between academic research and policy implementation, training government officials in the use of evidence and supporting the scale-up of programs that have demonstrated effectiveness through rigorous evaluation. As Duflo continues to take on new institutional roles—at the Paris School of Economics, the University of Zurich, and in various advisory capacities—her influence on both the theory and practice of development economics remains a defining feature of the field in the early 21st century.
Her books, ''Poor Economics'' and ''Good Economics for Hard Times'', have reached audiences far beyond the academic community, contributing to broader public understanding of the causes of and potential solutions to poverty. According to the Open Syllabus Project, Duflo is the seventh most frequently cited author on college syllabi for economics courses, indicating her influence on the education of future economists.<ref name="bbntimes" />
 
Duflo's ongoing engagement with policy debates—through her institutional roles, public lectures, and written work—continues to shape discussions about how best to address poverty, inequality, and social exclusion in both developing and developed countries.


== References ==
== References ==
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Latest revision as of 02:29, 25 February 2026

Esther Duflo
BornEsther Duflo
25 10, 1972
BirthplaceParis, France
NationalityFrench, American
OccupationEconomist, professor
TitleAbdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics
EmployerMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Known forRandomized controlled trials in development economics; co-founding the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
EducationPhD in Economics (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Spouse(s)Abhijit Banerjee
Children2
AwardsTemplate:Ubl
Website[http://www.povertyactionlab.com/ Official site]

Esther Duflo (born 25 October 1972) is a French-American economist who holds the position of Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2019, she was jointly awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences alongside her husband, Abhijit Banerjee, and Michael Kremer, "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty."[1] At the age of 46, Duflo became the youngest person and only the second woman ever to receive the Nobel in Economics.[1] She is the co-founder and co-director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a research center based at MIT that promotes the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effectiveness of social programs and policies aimed at reducing poverty. As of 2020, more than 400 million people had been affected by programs tested by J-PAL-affiliated researchers.[2] Together with Banerjee, Duflo co-authored the books Poor Economics (2011) and Good Economics for Hard Times (2019), both of which brought development economics research to a broad public audience.[3]

Early Life

Esther Duflo was born on 25 October 1972 in Paris, France.[1] She grew up in a Protestant family in France. Her mother was a pediatrician who was involved in medical humanitarian work, which exposed the young Duflo to questions of global poverty and the challenges faced by people in developing countries from an early age.[4] Duflo has spoken publicly about how her mother's involvement in charitable and medical work in developing nations influenced her own intellectual trajectory and her eventual decision to pursue a career in economics focused on poverty alleviation.[4]

Growing up in France, Duflo was educated in the French academic system, which provided her with a rigorous foundation in mathematics and the social sciences. Her early intellectual interests were broad, encompassing history and the humanities as well as the sciences. However, it was her exposure to the realities of global inequality—partly through her mother's experiences—that gradually drew her toward economics as a discipline that could offer practical solutions to the problem of poverty.[5]

Duflo has noted in interviews that she did not initially set out to become an economist. Her path to the field was shaped by a combination of intellectual curiosity and a desire to address real-world problems with empirical rigor. In her own account, she was drawn to economics because it offered tools for understanding and intervening in the conditions that perpetuate poverty, rather than simply describing them.[4]

Education

Duflo pursued her undergraduate studies in France, attending the prestigious École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where she studied history and economics.[1] She subsequently earned a master's degree in economics from the DELTA program (now part of the Paris School of Economics).[5]

Duflo then moved to the United States to pursue doctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she completed her PhD in economics in 1999.[1] Her doctoral advisors at MIT were Abhijit Banerjee—who would become her long-term research collaborator and, later, her husband—and Joshua Angrist, both influential figures in the application of empirical methods to economic questions.[5] Her doctoral research focused on development economics and employed the kind of field-experimental methodology that would come to define her career.

Career

Academic Positions at MIT

After completing her PhD in 1999, Duflo joined the MIT Department of Economics as a faculty member, beginning a career-long association with the institution.[1] She rose through the academic ranks and was appointed to the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics chair, a named professorship that reflects her central focus on understanding and reducing global poverty.[1]

Duflo's research has focused on the microeconomics of development and has spanned a range of topics including household behavior, education, financial inclusion, political economy, gender, and health.[1] Her work is characterized by the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs)—a methodology adapted from clinical medicine—to evaluate the effectiveness of specific interventions aimed at improving the lives of the poor. This approach represented a significant methodological shift in development economics, moving the field away from reliance on broad theoretical models and toward granular, evidence-based assessments of what actually works in practice.[2]

According to the Open Syllabus Project, Duflo is the seventh most frequently cited author on college syllabi for economics courses, reflecting her substantial influence on the teaching of the discipline.[5]

In October 2025, the University of Zurich announced that Duflo and Banerjee would be joining the faculty of the UZH School of Business, Economics, and Informatics in July 2026.[1] Since 2024, Duflo has also served as the president of the Paris School of Economics, alongside her continuing appointment at MIT.[5]

Founding of J-PAL

In 2003, Duflo co-founded the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT, together with Abhijit Banerjee and Sendhil Mullainathan.[6] J-PAL is a global research center that works to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. The lab's core mission is to promote the use of randomized evaluations—rigorous field experiments—to test the effectiveness of programs and policies designed to help the poor.[6]

Under Duflo's co-directorship, J-PAL has grown into one of the most influential institutions in development economics. The lab has a network of affiliated researchers who have conducted hundreds of randomized evaluations across dozens of countries, covering topics such as education, health, governance, agriculture, labor markets, and financial access.[2] As of 2020, more than 400 million people had been reached by programs and policies that were scaled up or informed by evidence from J-PAL-affiliated research.[2]

The impact of J-PAL's work extends beyond academic research. The lab actively engages with governments, NGOs, and international organizations to translate research findings into actionable policy recommendations. This "evidence-to-policy" pipeline has been central to Duflo's vision for the role of economics in the fight against poverty.[2]

Duflo has articulated the philosophy underlying J-PAL's approach in numerous public statements. In her view, the provision of social services to people in poverty is essential precisely because poverty limits the choices available to families, who cannot afford essential services like education and healthcare on their own and must rely on state provisions.[7]

Research Contributions

Duflo's research has made substantial contributions to the understanding of how specific interventions can improve outcomes for the poor in developing countries. Her work, much of it conducted in collaboration with Banerjee and other J-PAL-affiliated researchers, has addressed a wide array of policy-relevant questions.

In the field of education, Duflo and her collaborators have conducted randomized evaluations to assess the effectiveness of different approaches to improving educational outcomes in developing countries. Their research has examined the impact of teacher incentives, class size reductions, remedial education programs, and information provision on student performance and enrollment rates. These studies have provided policymakers with concrete evidence about which educational interventions yield measurable improvements and which do not.[2]

In health, Duflo's research has investigated barriers to the adoption of preventive health measures, such as vaccination and bed net usage, among poor populations. Her work has shown that small incentives and nudges can dramatically increase take-up rates for health interventions, challenging the assumption that lack of demand is the primary barrier to health improvements in developing countries.[2]

Duflo has also contributed to research on financial inclusion, examining how access to savings accounts, microcredit, and insurance products affects the economic behavior and well-being of poor households. Her work in this area has nuanced the debate around microfinance, providing evidence on both its potential benefits and its limitations.[1]

In the area of governance and political economy, Duflo has studied the effects of political reservation systems (such as those in India that reserve leadership positions for women) on policy outcomes and gender norms. Her research has shown that exposure to female political leaders can change attitudes toward women in positions of authority, with implications for gender equality more broadly.[1]

Publications

Together with Abhijit Banerjee, Duflo co-authored Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty, published in April 2011.[3][8] The book synthesizes findings from years of randomized evaluations conducted by Duflo, Banerjee, and their collaborators, presenting evidence on what works and what does not in the fight against poverty. Poor Economics received international attention and was awarded the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award in 2011.

In November 2019, Duflo and Banerjee published their second co-authored book, Good Economics for Hard Times, which addressed a broader set of economic questions—including immigration, trade, technological change, and inequality—through the lens of rigorous empirical evidence.[1] The book argued for a more evidence-based approach to public policy debates, drawing on the authors' research and that of other economists.

Duflo has also authored or co-authored a large number of academic papers published in leading economics journals. Her work is among the most cited in the field of development economics.

Institutional Roles

In addition to her academic appointment at MIT and her leadership of J-PAL, Duflo holds a number of other institutional positions. She is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a board member of the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), and the director of the development economics program of the Centre for Economic Policy Research.[1]

In November 2025, Duflo was announced as the Chair of the Jury for the inaugural Lafayette Fellowship cycle, a graduate fellowship program organized by Villa Albertine, a French cultural institution in the United States.[9]

Since 2024, Duflo has served as president of the Paris School of Economics, reflecting her continued engagement with the French academic and research community.[5]

Public Engagement and Advocacy

Duflo has been active in bringing the findings of development economics research to broader public audiences. In addition to her books, she has delivered numerous public lectures and interviews on the subjects of poverty, education, and economic policy. In a 2025 interview with the Harvard Business Review, Duflo discussed her motivations for becoming an economist, the process by which she and her colleagues popularized the use of randomized controlled trials in the field, and her views on the future of development economics.[4]

Duflo has also spoken publicly about the importance of education systems that prioritize adaptability and curiosity over narrow skills training. In a 2025 address, she urged students to resist the pressure to chase "perfect" careers, arguing that skills can become obsolete and that the ability to learn and adapt is more valuable than any specific credential.[10]

Personal Life

Esther Duflo is married to Abhijit Banerjee, her long-time research collaborator and co-laureate of the 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.[1] Banerjee was also her doctoral advisor at MIT. Together, they have two children.[1] The couple's professional and personal partnership has been the subject of considerable public and media interest, particularly following their joint receipt of the Nobel Prize.

Duflo holds both French and American nationality.[1] She has maintained strong ties to France throughout her career, serving as president of the Paris School of Economics since 2024 and participating in French cultural and academic initiatives.[5]

Recognition

Duflo has received numerous awards and honors over the course of her career, reflecting the impact of her research and institutional contributions.

In 2009, Duflo was named a MacArthur Fellow, receiving the so-called "genius grant" from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.[11]

In 2010, she was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal by the American Economic Association, which is given to the American economist under the age of 40 who has made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge.[12] Duflo was the first non-American-born economist and the first woman to receive the Clark Medal.

In 2002, Duflo received the Elaine Bennett Research Prize from the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP).[13]

In 2015, she was awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences, one of Spain's most significant international prizes.[14][15]

In 2019, Duflo received the Calvó-Armengol International Prize, awarded by the Barcelona School of Economics.[16]

Duflo has been named to Foreign Policy magazine's list of Top 100 Global Thinkers on multiple occasions, including in 2008, 2010, and 2012.[17][18][19]

In 2008, The Economist identified Duflo as one of the top young economists of the decade.[20] In 2011, Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.[21]

Duflo is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[22]

Legacy

Esther Duflo's contributions to economics have had a measurable impact on both the academic discipline and the practice of development policy. Her central methodological contribution—the systematic application of randomized controlled trials to evaluate anti-poverty interventions—has transformed the way economists, governments, and international organizations approach questions of development and social policy.[2]

Through J-PAL, Duflo and her collaborators have built an institutional infrastructure that connects academic research to policy implementation on a global scale. The lab's model of conducting rigorous evaluations and then working with governments and organizations to scale up programs that prove effective has been replicated and adapted by institutions around the world.[6] As of 2020, J-PAL's network of affiliated researchers had conducted evaluations affecting the lives of more than 400 million people, a figure that underscores the real-world reach of the lab's work.[2]

Duflo's receipt of the Nobel Prize in 2019, shared with Banerjee and Kremer, marked a significant moment for the field of development economics. The Nobel Committee's recognition of their "experimental approach to alleviating global poverty" affirmed the importance of evidence-based methods in economic research and policy.[1] Duflo's status as only the second woman to receive the Nobel in Economics also brought renewed attention to questions of gender representation in the profession.

Her books, Poor Economics and Good Economics for Hard Times, have reached audiences far beyond the academic community, contributing to broader public understanding of the causes of and potential solutions to poverty. According to the Open Syllabus Project, Duflo is the seventh most frequently cited author on college syllabi for economics courses, indicating her influence on the education of future economists.[5]

Duflo's ongoing engagement with policy debates—through her institutional roles, public lectures, and written work—continues to shape discussions about how best to address poverty, inequality, and social exclusion in both developing and developed countries.

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 "Esther Duflo".Britannica.https://www.britannica.com/money/Esther-Duflo.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 "Poverty Fighters: Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo".International Monetary Fund.https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/06/mit-poverty-fighters-abhijit-banerjee-and-esther-duflo.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "About the Book".Poor Economics.http://www.pooreconomics.com/about-book.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Life's Work: An Interview with Esther Duflo".Harvard Business Review.October 2025.https://hbr.org/2025/11/lifes-work-an-interview-with-esther-duflo.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 "Esther Duflo: Trailblazing Economist, Nobel Laureate, and Pioneer in Fighting Global Poverty".BBN Times.https://www.bbntimes.com/global-economy/esther-duflo-trailblazing-economist-nobel-laureate-and-pioneer-in-fighting-global-poverty.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab".J-PAL.http://www.povertyactionlab.com/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  7. ↑ "Quote of the day by Esther Duflo".The Economic Times.https://m.economictimes.com/us/news/quote-of-the-day-by-esther-duflo-the-logic-is-that-when-you-provide-schools-or-any-social-service-to-people-they-have-no-choice-/articleshow/128744224.cms.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  8. ↑ "Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty".Amazon.https://www.amazon.com/Poor-Economics-Radical-Rethinking-Poverty/dp/1586487981.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  9. ↑ "Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo Announced as Chair of the Jury for Inaugural Lafayette Fellowship Cycle".Villa Albertine.November 13, 2025.https://villa-albertine.org/va/press-release/nobel-laureate-esther-duflo-announced-as-chair-of-the-jury-for-inaugural-lafayette-fellowship-cycle/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  10. ↑ "Skills can become obsolete: Why Nobel Prize winner Esther Duflo wants students to stop chasing 'perfect'".The Times of India.https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/skills-can-become-obsolete-why-nobel-prize-winner-esther-duflo-wants-students-to-stop-chasing-perfect-careers/articleshow/126607670.cms.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  11. ↑ "Meet the 2009 Fellows".John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.5410503/k.11CB/Meet_the_2009_Fellows.htm.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  12. ↑ "John Bates Clark Medal".American Economic Association.http://www.aeaweb.org/honors_awards/clark_medal.php.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  13. ↑ "Elaine Bennett Research Prize".CSWEP.http://www.cswep.org/awards/DufloFinal.htm.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  14. ↑ "Esther Duflo wins Princess of Asturias Social Science prize".Euronews.http://www.euronews.com/2015/05/13/esther-duflo-wins-princess-of-asturias-social-science-prize/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  15. ↑ "2015 - Esther Duflo".Fundación Princesa de Asturias.http://www.fpa.es/en/princess-of-asturias-awards/laureates/2015-esther-duflo.html?especifica=0.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  16. ↑ "Prof. Esther Duflo Wins Calvó-Armengol Prize".Barcelona School of Economics.http://www.barcelonagse.eu/Prof_Esther_Duflo_Wins_Calvo-Armengol_Prize.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  17. ↑ "The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers".Foreign Policy.https://foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4293.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  18. ↑ "The FP 100 Global Thinkers (2010)".Foreign Policy.https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/11/29/the_fp_top_100_global_thinkers?page=full.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  19. ↑ "The FP 100 Global Thinkers (2012)".Foreign Policy.https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/26/the_fp_100_global_thinkers?page=0,41.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  20. ↑ "Economics focus".The Economist.http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12851150.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  21. ↑ "The 2011 TIME 100".Time.http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2066367_2066369_2066106,00.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  22. ↑ "Book of Members: Chapter D".American Academy of Arts and Sciences.http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterD.pdf.Retrieved 2026-02-24.

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