Indian economist Abhijit Banerjee, two others win Nobel Prize in Economics

Indian American economist Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer have been chosen for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Economics this year “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty". Their works in developmental economics won them the Nobel recognition. "The 2019 Economic Sciences Laureates’ research findings have dramatically improved our ability to fight poverty in practice. As a result of one of their studies, more than 5 million Indian children have benefitted from programmes of remedial tutoring in schools," noted the Nobel committee.  

The three will be awarded 9 million-kronor ($918,000) cash award, a gold medal and a diploma. "The research conducted by the 2019 Economic Sciences Laureates has considerably improved our ability to fight global poverty. In just two decades, their new experiment-based approach has transformed development economics, which is now a flourishing field of research," the committee noted in their announcements. 

Abhijit, Duflo and Kremer have conducted developmental studies in emerging economies, including India, in their attempts to fight poverty. Their experimental research methods now entirely dominate development economics. 

In the mid-1990s, Economic Sciences Laureate Michael Kremer and his colleagues demonstrated how powerful an experiment-based approach can be, using field experiments to test a range of interventions that could improve school results in western Kenya.

"This year’s Nobel laureates have introduced a new approach to obtaining reliable answers about the best ways to fight global poverty. It divides this issue into smaller, more manageable questions—for example, the most effective interventions for improving child health," the Nobel committee noted.