Good economics for hard times

Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee were winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics for their ground-breaking work on solving global poverty. Using their innovative research based on field experiments, they have created practical tools to improve education, health and economic wellbeing.

In their new book, Good Economics for Hard Times, they look at today’s seemingly insoluble problems – inequality, technological disruption, slowing growth, and accelerating climate change – to find the fresh and original solutions we need. In conversation with UNSW economist Richard Holden, they will explore how cutting-edge economics can take on these challenges and bring the world back from the brink.

“We had two closely related ambitions. The first one was to contribute to improving the lives of the poor, here and now. The second was to build a better understanding of how they live their lives, from the ground up, by building a fuller picture, one question at a time.” Esther Duflo