Esther Duflo

Esther Duflo is the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at MIT's Department of Economics, co-founder and co-director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), and Chaire at Collège de France. She holds a PhD in Economics from MIT (1999) and earlier degrees in history and economics from École Normale Supérieure, Paris.

• Research Focus: Development economics, education policy, public health, financial inclusion, and governance in low-income contexts.
• Key Contributions: Pioneering randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate poverty-alleviation programs, including microfinance, education subsidies, and health interventions.

Recent Publications (2024–2019): Analyzed climate change adaptation, intergenerational education impacts, technology diffusion, social media health campaigns, and long-term poverty interventions. Her work spans empirical economics, behavioral science, and policy design, emphasizing scalable solutions.

• 2019: Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
• 2015: Princess of Asturias Award
• 2014: Infosys Prize
• 2010: John Bates Clark Medal
• 2009: MacArthur Fellowship

Books: Co-authored Poor Economics and Good Economics for Hard Times, and authored children's books explaining poverty through economic concepts (e.g., Nilou's Dreams).