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{{short description|Indian economist|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox economist
| name = Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee
| image = Abhijit Banerjee FT Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award 2011 (cropped).jpg
| birth_name = Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1961|2|21}}
| birth_place = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], [[India]]
| citizenship = [[United States]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Calcutta]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BSc]]) [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]] ([[M.A.|MA]]) [[Harvard University]] ([[PhD]])
| spouse = {{ubl|Arundhati Tuli Banerjee (divorced 2014)|{{marriage|[[Esther Duflo]]|2015}}}}
| awards = [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences]] (2019)
| field = [[Development economics]] [[Social economics]]
| institution = [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] [[Harvard University]] [[Princeton University]]
| doctoral_advisor = [[Eric Maskin]]
| doctoral_students = [[Esther Duflo]]<ref>Duflo, Esther (1999), ''[https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/9516 Essays in empirical development economics]''. PhD dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.</ref> [[Dean Karlan]]<ref>Karlan, Dean S. (2002), ''[https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/8412 Social capital and microfinance] [[João Leão]]''. PhD dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.</ref> [[Benjamin Jones (economist)|Benjamin Jones]]<ref>Jones, Benjamin (2003), ''[https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7969 Essays on innovation, leadership, and growth]''. PhD dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.</ref> [[Nancy Qian]]<ref>Qian, Nancy (2005), ''[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/32399 Three Essays on Development Economics in China]''. PhD dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.</ref>
| contributions = [[Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab]]
| repec_prefix = f
| repec_id = pba1710
}}
'''Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee''' ({{IPA-bn|obʱidʒit bɛnardʒi|pron}}; born 21 February 1961) is an [[India]]-born [[Naturalization|naturalized]] [[America]]n economist who is currently the [[Ford Foundation]] International Professor of Economics at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]].<ref name=":2">{{cite web | url=https://economics.mit.edu/faculty/banerjee/short | title=Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee Economics Department MIT | publisher=[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] | date=14 October 2019 | access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/economics-nobel-for-indian-american/847206.html|title=Economics Nobel for Indian-American {{!}} Tribune India|date=15 October 2019|website=tribuneindia.com|access-date=15 October 2019}}</ref> Banerjee shared the 2019 [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences]] with [[Esther Duflo]] and [[Michael Kremer]] "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty".<ref name="nobelpressrelease">{{cite press release |author= |date=14 October 2019 |title=The Prize in Economic Sciences 2019 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2019/10/press-economicsciences2019.pdf |publisher=Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/india-origin-abhijit-banerjee-among-three-to-receive-economics-nobel/article29680388.ece|title=Abhijit Banerjee among three to receive Economics Nobel|author=The Hindu Net Desk|date=14 October 2019|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=14 October 2019|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> He and Esther Duflo, who are married, are the sixth married couple to jointly win a Nobel Prize.<ref name="AB1">
* {{cite web |url=https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/abhijit-banerjee-esther-duflo-winning-the-nobel-prize-together-is-the-real-couplegoal-2345283.html |title=Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo Winning the Nobel Prize Together is #CoupleGoals |publisher=News 18 |date=14 October 2019 |access-date=14 October 2019}}
* {{cite web |last1=Hannon |first1=Dominic Chopping and Paul |title=Nobel Prize in Economics Awarded for Work Alleviating Poverty |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/nobel-prize-in-economics-awarded-11571046679?mod=e2tw |access-date=14 October 2019 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2019/banerjee/facts/ |title=Abhijit Banerjee Facts |publisher=Nobel Prize |access-date=20 October 2019}}</ref>

Banerjee is a co-founder of [[Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab]] (along with economists [[Esther Duflo]] and [[Sendhil Mullainathan]]).<ref>{{cite web | url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/indian-american-abhijit-banerjee-and-two-others-win-2019-nobel-economics-prize/articleshow/71579263.cms | title = Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer win 2019 Nobel Economics Prize | date = 14 October 2019 | work = [[The Times of India]]| access-date = 15 October 2019}}</ref> He is a research affiliate of [[Innovations for Poverty Action]] and a member of the [[Consortium on Financial Systems and Poverty]]. Banerjee was a president of the Bureau for the Research in the Economic Analysis of Development, a research associate of the ''[[National Bureau of Economic Research]]''',''''' a research fellow at the [[Centre for Economic Policy Research]], an international research fellow of the [[Kiel Institute]], fellow at the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]], and a fellow at the [[Econometric Society]]. He also has been a Guggenheim Fellow and an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow. He is the co-author of ''[[Poor Economics]]''. He also serves on the academic advisory board of Plaksha University, an upcoming science and technology university in India.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://plaksha.org/|title=Plaksha University|website=plaksha.org|language=en-us|access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref> His new book, co-authored with Esther Duflo, ''[[Good Economics for Hard Times]]'', was released in October 2019 in India by [[Juggernaut Books]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/abhijit-v-banerjee/good-economics-for-hard-times/9781541762879/ |title=Good Economics for Hard Times by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo |website=[[PublicAffairs]] |access-date=16 October 2019|date=5 March 2019 }}</ref> He was sent to Delhi's Tihar Jail for 10 days for participating in protests at [[Jadavpur University]] in 1983.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/nobel-laureate-abhijit-banerjee-tihar-jail-jnu-protest-1609360-2019-10-14 | title = When Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee spent 10 days in Tihar jail | date = 14 October 2019 | work = [[India Today]] Web Desk | access-date = 15 October 2019}}</ref>

==Early life==
Abhijit Banerjee was born to a [[Bengalis|Bengali]] father and to a [[Marathi people|Marathi]] mother in [[Mumbai]].<ref name="AB2">
*{{cite web |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/abhijit-was-an-economist-by-accident-but-is-an-ace-cook-says-mother-nirmala/articleshow/71589170.cms|title=Abhijit was an economis by accident, but is an ace cook, says mother Nirmala|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|date=15 October 2019}}
* {{cite web |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/indian-american-mit-prof-abhijit-banerjee-and-wife-wins-nobel-in-economics/articleshow/71580136.cms |title=Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer win Nobel in Economics |work=[[The Economic Times]] |date=14 October 2019 |access-date=14 October 2019}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/india/mumbai-abhijit-banerjee-economics-nobel-5-mn-indian-kids-benefited-study-1502809941.html |title=Mumbai-born Abhijit Banerjee wins Economics Nobel, over 5 mn Indian kids benefited from his study |newspaper=[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]] |date=14 October 2019 |access-date=14 October 2019}}
* {{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/14/business/nobel-prize-economics/index.html |title=Nobel Prize in economics awarded to trio for work on poverty. One is the youngest winner ever |publisher=CNN |work=Hanna Ziady |date=14 October 2019 |access-date=14 October 2019}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/indianorigin-prof-wins-economics-nobel-for-poverty-research/1640334 |title=Indian-origin prof wins Economics Nobel for poverty research |newspaper=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook India]] |date=14 October 2019 |access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref> His father, [[Dipak Banerjee]], was a professor of economics at [[Presidency College, Calcutta]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/abhijit-banerjee-moved-from-statistical-institute-to-presidency/articleshow/71589310.cms|title=Abhijit Banerjee moved from Statistical Institute to Presidency |last=Javed|first=Zeeshan|last2=Ghosh|first2=Dwaipayan|website=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=15 October 2019|first3=Somdatta|last3= Basu}}</ref> and his mother Nirmala Banerjee (née Patankar), a professor of economics at the [[Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/just-happy-says-abhijit-banerjees-economist-mother/article29683010.ece|title=Just happy, says Abhijit Banerjee's economist-mother|last=Bagchi|first=Suvojit|date=15 October 2019|work=The Hindu|access-date=15 October 2019|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/west-bengal/abhijit-banerjee-likes-cinema-music-cooking-walking-mother/cid/1711756|title=Abhijit likes cinema, music, cooking & walking: Mother|last=Mazumdar|first= Jhinuk|date=15 October 2019|work=[[The Telegraph (India)|The Telegraph]]|access-date=15 October 2019|language=en-IN}}</ref> His father, Dipak Banerjee, earned a PhD in economics from the [[London School of Economics]].<ref>[https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/teachers-do-not-die-dipak-banerjee-1930-2007/cid/1027696 Teachers do not die - Dipak Banerjee (1930-2007)]</ref>

He received his school education in [[South Point High School (India)|South Point High School]], a renowned educational institution in [[Calcutta]]. After his schooling, he took admission at [[Presidency University, Kolkata|Presidency College]], then an affiliated college of the [[University of Calcutta]] and now an autonomous university, where he completed his BSc(H) degree in economics in 1981. Later, he completed his M.A. in economics at the [[Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi|Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi]] in 1983.<ref name="Abhijit Banerjee Short Bio">{{Cite web |url=http://economics.mit.edu/faculty/banerjee/short |title=Abhijit Banerjee Short Bio |date=24 October 2017 |website=Massachusetts Institute of Technology • Department of Economics |access-date=24 October 2017}}</ref> While studying in JNU, he was arrested and imprisoned in [[Tihar Jail]] during a protest after students [[gherao]]ed the then Vice Chancellor PN Srivastava of the university. He was released on bail and charges were subsequently dropped against the students.<ref name="AB3">
* {{cite web | url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/when-nobel-laureate-abhijit-banerjee-jailed-in-tihar-for-gheraoing-jnu-vice-chancellor-2345771.html | title=When Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee was Jailed in Tihar for 'Gheraoing' JNU Vice Chancellor | publisher=News18 | date=14 October 2019 | access-date=14 October 2019}}
* {{cite web | url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/abhijit-banerjee-some-personal-recollections/articleshow/71584491.cms | title=Abhijit Banerjee: Some personal recollections | work=[[The Economic Times]] | date=14 October 2019 | access-date=14 October 2019}}
* {{cite web | url=https://www.deccanherald.com/national/the-nobel-laureate-in-jail-768374.html | title=The Nobel Laureate in Jail! | work=[[Deccan Herald]]| author=Shemin Joy | date=14 October 2019 | access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref> Later, he went on to obtain a [[PhD]] from [[Harvard University]] in 1988.<ref name=":2" /> The subject of his doctoral thesis was "Essays in Information Economics."<ref>{{cite web |title=Abhijit Banerjee CV |url=https://economics.mit.edu/files/14956 |website=economics.mit.edu |access-date=15 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014134104/https://economics.mit.edu/files/14956 |archive-date=14 October 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Career==
Banerjee is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology;<ref>{{cite web |title=Abhijit Banerjee – Short Bio |url=https://economics.mit.edu/faculty/banerjee/short |website=economics.mit.edu |access-date=15 October 2019}}</ref> he has taught at [[Harvard University]] and [[Princeton University]].<ref>{{cite web |title=MIT economists Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee win Nobel Prize |url=http://news.mit.edu/2019/esther-duflo-abhijit-banerjee-win-2019-nobel-prize-economics-1014 |website=MIT News |access-date=15 October 2019}}</ref>

His work focuses on [[development economics]]. Together with Esther Duflo he has discussed [[field experiments]] as an important methodology to discover causal relationships in economics.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Banerjee |first1=Abhijit V |last2=Duflo |first2=Esther |title=The Experimental Approach to Development Economics |url=https://www.nber.org/papers/w14467 |website=nber.org |publisher=National Bureau of Economic Research |access-date=15 October 2019 |date=November 2008|doi=10.3386/w14467 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
He was elected a fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 2004.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter B|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterB.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=17 May 2011}}</ref> He was also honored with the Infosys Prize 2009 in the social sciences category of economics. He is also the recipient of the inaugural [[Infosys Prize]] in the category of social sciences (economics).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.infosys-science-foundation.com/winner_ss_abhijit_banerjee.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517161347/http://www.infosys-science-foundation.com/winner_ss_abhijit_banerjee.html|url-status=dead|title=Infosys Prize 2009 – Social Sciences – Economics|archive-date=17 May 2011|access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref> He also served on the Social Sciences jury for the [[Infosys Prize]] in 2018.
In 2012, he shared the [[Gerald Loeb Award]] Honorable Mention for Business Book with co-author Esther Duflo for their book ''[[Poor Economics]]''.<ref name=LOEB-2012>{{Cite web |url=http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/media-relations/2012/loeb-award-winners |title=UCLA Anderson Announces 2012 Gerald Loeb Award Winners |date=26 June 2012 |website=[[UCLA Anderson School of Management]] |access-date=2 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412190353/https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/media-relations/2012/loeb-award-winners |archive-date=12 April 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2013, he was named by the United Nations Secretary General [[Ban Ki-Moon]] to a panel of experts tasked with updating the [[Millennium Development Goals]] after 2015 (their expiration date).<ref>{{cite web|title=Ban names high-level panel to map out 'bold' vision for future global development efforts|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42597&Cr=mdgs&Cr1|access-date=6 November 2013|date = 31 July 2012}}</ref>

In 2014, he received the Bernhard-Harms-Prize from the [[Kiel Institute for the World Economy]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bernhard Harms Prize 2014 |url=https://www.ifw-kiel.de/institute/events/prizes-and-awards/bernhard-harms-prize/events/bernhard-harms-prize-2014/ |website=ifw-kiel.de |access-date=15 October 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

In 2019, he delivered Export-Import Bank of India's 34th Commencement Day Annual Lecture on Redesigning Social Policy.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/make-govt-jobs-less-cushy-mit-economist-abhijit-banerjee-on-10-quota-119010901160_1.html|title=Make govt jobs less cushy: MIT economist Abhijit Banerjee on 10% quota|date=9 January 2019|access-date=14 October 2019|newspaper=[[Business Standard]]}}</ref>

In 2019, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, together with Esther Duflo and [[Michael Kremer]], for their work [[poverty reduction|alleviating global poverty]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/abhijit-banerjee-india-american-economist-awarded-nobel-prize-economics-for-work-in-global-poverty-2345239.html|title=Indian-American Economist Abhijit Banerjee Among 3 Awarded Nobel Prize for Fighting Poverty|website=News18|access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref>

===Research===
Banerjee and his co-workers try to measure the effectiveness of actions (such as government programmes) in improving people's lives. For this, they use [[randomized controlled trials]], similar to clinical trials in medical research.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Cho | first = Adrian | title = Economics Nobel honors trio taking an experimental approach to fighting poverty | journal = Science | date = 14 October 2019 | url = https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/10/economics-nobel-honors-trio-taking-experimental-approach-fighting-poverty | access-date = 16 October 2019 | quote = To bring some science to the fight against poverty, the three researchers borrowed a key tool from clinical medicine: the randomized controlled trial. [They] have used trials to test interventions in education, health, agriculture, and access to credit.| doi = 10.1126/science.aaz7975 }}</ref> For example, although [[polio vaccination]] is freely available in India, many mothers were not bringing their children for the vaccination drives. Banerjee and Prof. Esther Duflo, also from MIT, tried an experiment in [[Rajasthan]], where they gave a bag of pulses to mothers who vaccinated their children. Soon, the immunization rate went up in the region. In another experiment, they found that learning outcomes improved in schools that were provided with teaching assistants to help students with special needs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/economics-of-poverty/article29683404.ece?homepage=true/|title=Economics of poverty: On Economic Sciences' Nobel |newspaper=The Hindu|access-date=21 October 2019|language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Abhijit Banerjee was married to Dr. Arundhati Tuli Banerjee, a lecturer of literature at MIT.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mids.ac.in/abhijit.pdf|title=Malcolm Adiseshiah Award 2001, A Profile: Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee|date=2001|publisher=Malcolm & Elizabeth Adiseshiah Trust & Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708075306/https://www.mids.ac.in/abhijit.pdf|archive-date=8 July 2017|access-date=27 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mitgsl.mit.edu/people/lecturers-and-emeriti/arundhati-banerjee|title=Global Studies and Languages, Biography: Arundhati Tuli Banerjee|date=18 August 2018|website=MIT|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818205135/http://mitgsl.mit.edu/people/lecturers-and-emeriti/arundhati-banerjee|archive-date=18 August 2018|access-date=27 April 2019}}</ref> Abhijit and Arundhati had one son together and later divorced.<ref name=":1" /> Their son, born in 1991, died in an accident in 2016.

In 2015, Banerjee married his co-researcher, MIT professor [[Esther Duflo]]; they have two children.<ref name = "FT">{{cite news|last1=Gapper |first1=John |url=https://www.ft.com/content/81804a1a-6d08-11e1-ab1a-00144feab49a|title=Lunch with the FT: Esther Duflo |work=Financial Times|date= 16 March 2012|access-date=28 April 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181105215905/https://www.ft.com/content/81804a1a-6d08-11e1-ab1a-00144feab49a |archive-date = 5 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.project-syndicate.org/blog/esther-s-baby|title=Esther's baby|publisher=Project Syndicate |date= 23 March 2012|access-date=28 April 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151127153734/https://www.project-syndicate.org/blog/esther-s-baby |archive-date = 27 November 2015}}</ref> Banerjee was a joint supervisor of Duflo's PhD in economics at MIT in 1999.<ref name = "FT" /><ref name=":0">{{cite news| url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/interviews/Our-focus-is-to-enrol-people-suffering-from-lack-of-identity-Nandan-Nilekani/articleshow/6132663.cms | work=The Times of India | title=Our focus is to enrol people suffering from lack of identity: Nandan Nilekani | date=6 July 2010}}</ref> Duflo is also a Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at MIT.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://economics.mit.edu/files/14455|title=Esther Duflo CV|publisher=Esther Duflo at MIT |date= 2018 |access-date=27 April 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180809223646/http://economics.mit.edu/files/14455 |archive-date =9 August 2018}}</ref>

==Publications==
{{Scholia}}

===Books===
* {{cite book |last1= Aghion |first1= Philippe |author-link1= Philippe Aghion |last2= Banerjee |first2= Abhijit |date= 2005 |title= Volatility And Growth |location= Oxford |publisher= [[Oxford University Press]] |isbn= 9780199248612 }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last= Banerjee |editor1-first= Abhijit Vinayak |editor2-last= Bénabou |editor2-first= Roland |editor2-link= Roland Bénabou |editor3-last= Mookherjee|editor3-first= Dilip |editor3-link= Dilip Mookherjee |date= 2006 |title= Understanding Poverty |location= Oxford; New York |publisher= [[Oxford University Press]] |isbn= 9780195305203 }}
* {{cite book|last1= Banerjee |first1= Abhijit Vinayak |date= 2005 |title= Making Aid Work |location= Cambridge |publisher= [[MIT Press]] |isbn= 9780262026154 }}
* {{cite book |last1= Banerjee |first1= Abhijit V. |last2= Duflo |first2= Esther |date= 2011 |title= Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty |location= New York |publisher= [[PublicAffairs]] |isbn= 9781610390408 |title-link= Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last= Banerjee |editor1-first= Abhijit Vinayak |editor2-last= Duflo |editor2-first= Esther |date= 2017 |title= Handbook of Field Experiments, Volume 1 |publisher= [[North-Holland Publishing Company]] |isbn= 9780444633248 }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last= Banerjee |editor1-first= Abhijit Vinayak |editor2-last= Duflo |editor2-first= Esther |date= 2017 |title= Handbook of Field Experiments, Volume 2 |publisher= [[North-Holland Publishing Company]] |isbn= 9780444640116 }}
* Banerjee, Abhijit Vinayak ( 2019 ). ''A Short History of Poverty Measurements.'' [[Juggernaut Books]].
* {{Cite book |last=Banerjee |first=Abhijit V. |title=Good Economics for Hard Times |title-link=Good Economics for Hard Times |last2=Duflo |first2=Esther |publisher=PublicAffairs |year=2019 |isbn=9781541762879}}

== Awards ==

Abhijit Banerjee was awarded the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences]] in 2019 along with his two co-researchers [[Esther Duflo]] and [[Michael Kremer]] "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty".<ref>{{Cite news | last = Johnson | first = Simon | last2 = Pollard | first2 = Niklas | title = Trio wins economics Nobel for science-based poverty fight | publisher = Reuters | date = 14 October 2019 | url = https://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN1WT17L-OCATP}}</ref>

The press release from the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] noted: "Their experimental research methods now entirely dominate [[development economics]]."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2019/10/press-economicsciences2019.pdf|title=The Prize in Economic Sciences 2019|publisher=Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences: Nobel prize|date=14 October 2019|access-date=14 October 2019 }}</ref><ref name=guardianlive>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2019/oct/14/nobel-prize-in-economic-sciences-2019-sveriges-riksbank-live-updates|title=Nobel Prize in Economics won by Banerjee, Duflo and Kremer for fighting poverty|work=The Guardian|date=14 October 2019}}</ref>

The Nobel committee commented:
::"Banerjee, Duflo and their co-authors concluded that students appeared to learn nothing from additional days at school. Neither did spending on textbooks seem to boost learning, even though the schools in Kenya lacked many essential inputs. Moreover, in the Indian context Banerjee and Duflo intended to study, many children appeared to learn little: in results from field tests in the city of [[Vadodara]] fewer than one in five third-grade students could correctly answer first-grade curriculum math test questions.<ref name=guardianlive />

::"In response to such findings, Banerjee, Duflo and co-authors argued that efforts to get more children into school must be complemented by reforms to improve school quality."<ref name=guardianlive />

The Nobel Prize was a major recognition for their chosen field - Development Economics, and for the use of Randomised Controlled Trials. It evoked mixed emotions in India, where his success was celebrated with nationalistic fervour while approach and pro-poor focus were seen as a negation of India’s current government’s ideology as well as broader development discourse.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Discontents of a Nobel Prize|url=https://thewire.in/economy/the-discontents-of-a-nobel-prize|access-date=2020-09-01|website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]|language=en}}</ref>

He was awarded the [[Doctor of Letters]] ([[Honoris causa|Honoris Causa]]) by the [[University of Calcutta]] in January 2020.<ref name=DLitt_CU>[https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/calcutta-university-confers-doctor-of-letters-degree-to-abhijit-banerjee-2171173 Calcutta University Awards Doctor Of Letters Degree To Abhijit Banerjee]</ref>

==See also==
* [[Amartya Sen]], economist and the first Indian to receive a Nobel prize in the field

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://econ-www.mit.edu/faculty/banerjee/ Abhijit Banerjee's Home Page at MIT] including [http://economics.mit.edu/faculty/banerjee/cv1 his CV with comprehensive lists of awards and publications]
* [http://www.povertyactionlab.com Poverty Action Lab]
* {{cite web|last=Roberts|first=Russ|title=Banerjee on Poverty and Poor Economics|url=http://www.econtalk.org/archives/_featuring/abhijit_banerje/#|work=[[EconTalk]]|publisher=[[Library of Economics and Liberty]]|author-link=Russ Roberts|date=11 July 2011}}
* {{Google Scholar id|HLpqZooAAAAJ}}
* [http://www.nber.org/people/Abhijit_Banerjee Publications] at the [[National Bureau of Economic Research]]
* {{Nobelprize}} including the Prize Lecture 8 December 2019 ''Field experiments and the practice of economics''

{{2019 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureates}}
{{GeraldLoebAward Business Book}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banerjee, Abhijit}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American people of Bengali descent]]
[[Category:American people of Marathi descent]]
[[Category:20th-century Bengalis]]
[[Category:21st-century Bengalis]]
[[Category:Bengali Nobel laureates]]
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[[Category:Jawaharlal Nehru University alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:People with acquired American citizenship]]
[[Category:MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences faculty]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian economists]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian economists]]
[[Category:21st-century American economists]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:American economists]]
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[[Category:Scientists from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:Sloan Research Fellows]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Econometric Society]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Indian microfinance people]]
[[Category:Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Kolkata]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Indian Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Indian political writers]]
[[Category:American academics of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Center for Global Development]]
[[Category:Gerald Loeb Award winners for Business Books]]
[[Category:American Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Economics]]

Abhijit Banerjee - Revision history

Franolaxy: minor cleanup

->Pachu Kannan: Removed reference spam.