Abhijit Banerjee

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Abhijit Banerjee is an Indian-American economist and Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He shared the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences with Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. Banerjee co-founded the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) with Duflo and Mullainathan, which has become the world's leading center for using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate anti-poverty interventions. His research uses field experiments to examine the economics of poverty across dimensions including education (the effectiveness of different pedagogical approaches in developing countries), health (vaccination incentives, deworming), microfinance (the actual effects of microcredit on household welfare), and social protection programs. With Duflo, he co-authored Poor Economics, a widely read book synthesizing insights from decades of field experiments about why poor people make the choices they do and what interventions actually work. Banerjee's research has influenced development policy globally: J-PAL-affiliated researchers have conducted over 1,000 randomized evaluations in 93 countries, and evidence-backed policies generated through this research have reached hundreds of millions of people. He serves on advisory boards for governments in Africa, South Asia, and international organizations. He has received the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award, the Infosys Prize, and honorary degrees from numerous universities.