Abhijit Banerjee

Nobel-winning development economist · age 65

Abhijit Banerjee photo
Age
65
Born
February 21, 1961 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Zodiac
Pisces
Generation
Baby boomer
From
Kolkata, India
Nationality
Indian-American

Also known as Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee

the story

Abhijit Banerjee is an Indian-American development economist who shared the 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for pioneering randomized-controlled-trial approaches to fighting global poverty. A co-founder of MIT's Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), he co-authored the bestsellers 'Poor Economics' and 'Good Economics for Hard Times' with his wife and fellow laureate Esther Duflo. In July 2026 he joined the University of Zurich to co-lead a new Lemann Foundation-funded development center.

known for

Occupation
Economist

education

  • PhD in Economics, Harvard University (1988); MA, Jawaharlal Nehru University; BSc, Presidency College, Calcutta