Esther Duflo Speaker Biography

2019 Nobel Prize in Economics and Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, MIT

Esther Duflo is widely recognized as a leading speaker on climate change and poverty economics. A Nobel Prize winner in 2019, she shares this prestigious honor with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer for their groundbreaking work using field experiments to fight global poverty. At MIT, she holds the Abdul Latif Jameel Professorship in Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics and co-directs the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). Through her research and public speaking, Duflo has redefined how policymakers, corporations, and institutions understand the economics of the world’s poorest. Importantly, she emphasizes that data-driven decisions—rooted in local context—can generate scalable solutions. As climate change increasingly affects vulnerable populations, Duflo’s work gains urgency. She shows how poverty and environmental crises are intertwined, and why new strategies must address both simultaneously. Accordingly, she remains in high demand as a keynote speaker at major global events focused on sustainable development and economic resilience.

Economic Research

Duflo’s research explores how the global poor navigate essential areas like healthcare, education, banking, and governance. She brings rigorous empirical methods to real-world problems, partnering with governments and NGOs to test policy interventions. Her work doesn’t stop at identifying challenges. Instead, she focuses on designing solutions that are practical, cost-effective, and replicable. Because of this, her impact stretches from rural clinics in India to government cash-transfer programs in Africa. In recent years, she has also examined how climate change disproportionately harms those already facing economic hardship. Duflo believes that environmental and economic vulnerabilities must be addressed together to create lasting change. Through this lens, she continues to shape how we understand development economics in a warming world. As a leading speaker on climate change and poverty economics, she blends data, fieldwork, and moral clarity to reframe public debate. Her presentations challenge assumptions while offering concrete paths to action.

Awards

Duflo’s work has earned her international recognition and numerous prestigious awards. In addition to the Nobel Prize, she received the Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences in 2015 and the Infosys Prize in 2014. Her early recognition came through honors like the David N. Kershaw Award and the John Bates Clark Medal, often considered a prelude to the Nobel. In 2009, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship—popularly known as the “Genius Grant.” Each award reflects her innovative contributions to both economic theory and public policy. Notably, her interdisciplinary approach bridges academic research and humanitarian need. Duflo continues to lead by example, proving that rigorous scholarship can also be profoundly human. She has inspired a generation of economists, activists, and decision-makers to rethink how we fight poverty. Her insights into inequality, development, and climate risk have made her one of the most respected voices in economics today—and one of the most compelling keynote speakers on the global stage.

Book

Together with Abhijit Banerjee, Duflo authored Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty. The book won the 2011 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award and has been translated into over 17 languages. It offers a provocative yet hopeful look at why so many well-intentioned efforts to combat poverty fail—and how to fix them. Drawing on more than fifteen years of field research, the book emphasizes small, evidence-based solutions that empower individuals and communities. Unlike many economic texts, it is accessible, engaging, and rooted in lived experience. Moreover, the book’s global success helped catapult Duflo into the public eye as a major thought leader. Since then, she has become an essential voice on issues that lie at the intersection of economics, ethics, and sustainability. As a leading speaker on climate change and poverty economics, her work continues to resonate with audiences around the world.

Honors

In 2024, Esther Duflo was appointed President of the Paris School of Economics, marking another chapter in her distinguished career. She previously served as editor of the American Economic Review from 2017 to 2022, shaping the direction of top-tier research in her field. Additionally, she is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy—both rare honors for any economist. Duflo earned her undergraduate degree at École Normale Supérieure and later completed her Ph.D. in Economics at MIT. These academic credentials are matched by a rare capacity to connect complex data to urgent global issues. While her research is meticulous, her message is often simple: we must do better, and we can. Her work embodies the belief that the right policies, grounded in real-world testing, can change lives. As such, she remains a sought-after keynote voice and an essential authority on economic justice in the era of climate disruption.

Esther Duflo Speaking Topics

Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

Esther Duflo is a renowned development economist whose life work has been focused on alleviating global poverty. Join 2019 co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics, Esther Duflo, on this fascinating talk which aims to answer questions like: Why would a man in Morocco who doesn’t have enough to eat buy a television? Why is it so hard for children in poor areas to learn even when they attend school? Why do the poorest people in the Indian state of Maharashtra spend 7 percent of their food budget on sugar? Does having lots of children actually make you poorer? Based on her bestselling book translated to 17 languages and more than fifteen years of research with her husband in dozens of poor countries around the globe, Esther Duflo will shot the specific problems that come with poverty and offer proven solutions. Duflo argues that too many anti-poverty policies have failed because of a poor understanding of poverty. With an optimistic ending message that poverty can be - and should be won - prof. Duflo will transform the way you think of poverty and help your audience fight for building a better world without it.

Social Experiments to Fight Poverty

2019 Nobel Prize co-recipient winner in Economics, Esther Duflo, has dedicated her life researching poverty and how it can be fought. Drawing from her more than 15 years of experience and work in dozens of poor countries all over the world, prof. Duflo has come up with social experiments that can successfully fight it. Join Esther Duflo in this fascinating speech to motivate your audience in finding creative and innovative ways of fighting poverty to create a better world for everyone.