Esther Duflo

Esther Duflo is the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at MIT's Department of Economics. She co-founded and co-directs the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), where she also serves as Scientific Director for South Asia and Executive Committee member. Additional roles include Presidency of the Paris School of Economics and a Chair in Poverty Policy at Collège de France.

Her research examines economic behaviors in poverty through randomized field experiments, focusing on:

• Health system access and outcomes
• Educational quality and equity
• Microfinance and financial inclusion
• Environmental policy compliance
• Governance and anti-corruption mechanisms

Duflo's honors include:

• 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics
• Princess of Asturias Award (2015)
• John Bates Clark Medal (2010)
• MacArthur 'Genius Grant' (2009)
• Infosys Prize (2014)

Through J-PAL, she oversees global research partnerships evaluating poverty interventions, securing major grants for evidence-based policy scaling. Her lab coordinates international teams conducting field experiments across 80+ countries.