Esther Duflo

One of the most influential development economists today, Esther Duflo has worked on immunization, gender equality, and health. The Nobel Laureate of 2019 supports governments and organizations across the globe to make policy work better for poor people.

Interview

Randomized controlled trials

At a broad level, Esther Duflo focuses on poverty. In particular, she works on poverty in poor countries like India and Africa. One area that she has done extensive work in, and is particularly passionate about, is immunization. Here she speaks about the use of randomized controlled trials which revealed that although improving the supply of immunizations in India increased uptake, this could be substantially amplified by a little extra outlay on small incentives for people to have their children vaccinated.

Female Leadership

Esther Duflo discusses the impact of affirmative action for women in Indian politics at the local level which means that in every election, a number of randomly chosen villages must elect a female leader.

Breaking habits

‘It is clear that in a place like India … the main issue that people are facing is not a deficit of calories but it is a deficit in nutrients.’ Iron is a good example of this and one that is of particular importance to the health and development of adolescent girls. The technology exists to add iron to wheat or salt, but getting people to change their habits around food is extremely difficult. Esther Duflo has been involved in a number of experiments aimed at getting people to consume iron in various forms, but none of them have been entirely succesful.