Poor Economics

By the winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics

Winner of the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Best Business Book of the Year

“Randomized trials are the hottest thing in the fight against poverty, and two excellent new books have just come out by leaders in the field. One is Poor Economics by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo. These terrific books move the debate to the crucial question: What kind of aid works best?”

“Marvelous, rewarding... the sheer detail and warm sympathy on display reflects a true appreciation of the challenges their subjects face. They have fought to establish a beachhead of honesty and rigor about evidence, evaluation and complexity in an aid world that would prefer to stick to glossy brochures and celebrity photo‑ops. For this they deserve to be congratulated‑‑and to be read.”

“The ingenuity of these experiments aside, it is the rich and humane portrayal of the lives of the very poor that most impresses. [The authors] show how those in poverty make sophisticated calculations in the grimmest of circumstances. . . . Books such as these offer a better path forward. They are surely an experiment worth pursuing.”

“To cut to the chase: this is the best book about the lives of the poor that I have read for a very, very long time. The research is wide ranging. Much of it is new. Above all, Banerjee and Duflo take the poorest billion people as they find them. There is no wishful thinking. The attitude is straightforward and honest, occasionally painfully so. And some of the conclusions are surprising, even disconcerting.”

“A compelling and important read... An honest and readable account about the poor that stands a chance of actually yielding results.”

“Duflo and Banerjee tell these stories (of their randomised control trials) in a lovely new book called Poor Economics. As they admit, randomistas cannot answer some big questions‑‑how to tackle food prices, for instance. But through lots of microstudies, they make a subtle case for one big argument: aid really can help poor people, provided the money follows the evidence.”

“In an engrossing new book [the authors] draw on some intrepid research and a store of personal anecdotes to illuminate the lives of the 865m people who, at the last count, live on less than $0.99 a day.”

“Fascinating and captivating. Their work reads like a version of Freakonomics for the poor. There are insights into fighting global poverty from the remarkable and vital perspective of those whom we profess to serve. They remind us, I think, of our shared humanity and how at some fundamental levels we really do think alike.”

“Here’s something Jesus might recommend: Reading the clear, calm and revelatory book Poor Economics from Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo. It is gloriously instructive, and bracing testimony in itself to the gold standard of the Enlightenment: the scientific method. The authors, both economists at MIT, spent 15 years in the field, running randomized controlled trials to test various approaches to combating poverty. They bring both rigor and humility to a predicament typically riven by ideology and blowhards.” 

“This new book by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo eschews the ideology of both the right and the left, and focuses on what measurable evidence has to say about the often‑conflicting myths that dominate discussion of international development. The book is unusual, perhaps unique, in that the authors took a lot of time to talk to poor people about what they think and what they want.”

“A remarkable work: incisive, scientific, compelling and very accessible, a must read for advocates and opponents of international aid alike, for interested laymen and dedicated academics. Amartya Sen, fellow Nobel Prize winner Robert Solow and superstar economics author Steven Levitt wholeheartedly endorse this book. I urge you to read it. It will help shape the debate in development economics.”

“If [Jeffrey] Sachs is an impassioned activist, Abhijit Banerjee, an MIT professor, is ironic, thoughtful and deliberate, ready to cast a cold eye on social issues such as health, education and poverty. The big questions are important, but they have no definite answers. So, it is better to find answers for small questions. . . . There is little doubt that RCT [randomized control testing] offers a chance to replace assumptions with hard data. Development policies are often driven by what Banerjee calls the three ‘I’s—ideology, ignorance and inertia. His research and his book, is ‘just an invitation to look more closely’ and understand how the poor make their decisions.”

“Banerjee and Duflo assemble a fascinating assortment of interventions from across the globe in their book...It is engaging and informative - which is more than can be said for many books of this genre.”

“This is a welcome shift in methodology as it implicitly concedes the need to combine social science with hard economics.”

“It vividly, sensitively and rigorously brings alive the dilemmas of the poor as economic agents in a variety of contexts, whether as consumers or risk‑takers. There are splendid chapters on a variety of topics that affect the poor: food, health, education, savings, micro‑credit, insurance, risk and even some cursory observations on political behaviour.”

“[Banerjee and Duflo] draw upon the latest literature in the domain, write simply and succinctly on complex issues, display a level of honesty and humility rare among economists, and take the help of many highly illustrative examples to help us understand poverty from many different angles. The overall message is unambiguous. This is a complex problem, the causes and symptoms of which vary highly between individual cases. The solutions? Well, they are rightly silent on that—at best there is a murmur or two. Poverty is not a single problem so the solutions are too case-specific for a single solution. . . . This should be standard reading and essential material in all aid organizations and more so in the National Advisory Council, Planning Commission, Prime Minister’s Office, and the various ministries—all those who don’t spend time understanding poverty in close vicinity.”

“It is one of the best gifts for anyone truly interested in development models and processes to help the poor and who reject the banal notions and mindless efforts of politicians across continents. . . . Poor Economics is a book that simply cannot be praised too much.”

“Banerjee and Duflo write exceptionally well, and given that there are two of them, the voice is surprisingly singular. But the real surprise in this book is its humility. Both the authors and the material they pull from are truly formidable, yet Banerjee and Duflo are not really out to make a hard pitch, least of all to die-hard Big Idealists who disagree with them. As such, there is nothing directly confrontational about Poor Economics. They are peeling the onion, not hacking it to pieces.”

“This is possibly the best thing I will read all year, an insightful (and researchbacked) book digging into the economics of poverty. . . . Love that the website is so very complementary to the book, and 100% aligned with the ambition to convince and spread the word.”

“The persuasiveness of Poor Economics lies in its authors’ intellectual approach. . . . Moreover, it is well organized throughout and nicely written. . . . Poor Economics is well worth reading in full.”

“Fact‑based, actionable and totally unforgettable insights on the fight to help the poor help themselves.” 

“Their empirical approach differs from policy discussions that base support or criticism of aid programs on a broad overview; instead they illuminate many practicable and cost‑effective ways to keep children and parents living healthier and more productive lives. An important perspective on fighting poverty.”

“Highly decorated economists Banerjee and Duflo (Economics/Massachusetts Institute of Technology) relay 15 years of research into a smart, engaging investigation of global poverty—and why we’re failing to eliminate it. . . . A refreshingly clear, well-structured argument against the standard approach to poverty, this book, while intended for academics and those working on the ground, should provide an essential wake-up call for any reader.”

“This book is a must‑read for anyone who cares about world poverty. It has been years since I read a book that taught me so much. Poor Economics represents the best that economics has to offer.”

“A marvelously insightful book by two outstanding researchers on the real nature of poverty.”

“Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo are allergic to grand generalizations about the secret of economic development. Instead they appeal to many local observations and experiments to explore how poor people in poor countries actually cope with their poverty: what they know, what they seem (or don't seem) to want, what they expect of themselves and others, and how they make the choices that they can make. Apparently there are plenty of small but meaningful victories to be won, some through private and some through public action, that together could add up to a large gains for the world's poor, and might even start a ball rolling. I was fascinated and convinced.” 

“Esther Duflo won the John Bates Clark medal last year for her work on development economics, so I was excited to read her new book with Abhijit Banerjee Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty. It’s a good book. It doesn’t really contain a radical rethinking of the way to fight global poverty, but it does try to cut past lame debates over whether or not foreign aid “works” to instead attempt to find ways to actually assess which programs are working, which aren’t, and how to improve those that don’t.”