Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee
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Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee (; born 21 February 1961) is an
Indian American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the United States, who ar ...
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
who is currently the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
International Professor of Economics at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
. He is co-founder and co-director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), an
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
based global research center promoting the use of scientific evidence to inform poverty alleviation strategies. In 2019, Banerjee shared the
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (), commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics(), is an award in the field of economic sciences adminis ...
with
Esther Duflo Esther Duflo, FBA (; born 25 October 1972) is a French-American economist currently serving as the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2019, she w ...
and
Michael Kremer Michael Robert Kremer (born November 12, 1964) is an American Development economics, development economist currently serving as university professor in economics at the University of Chicago and director of the Development Innovation Lab at th ...
, "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty." He and
Esther Duflo Esther Duflo, FBA (; born 25 October 1972) is a French-American economist currently serving as the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2019, she w ...
are married, and became the sixth married couple to jointly win a Nobel or Nobel Memorial Prize. In addition to his academic appointments, Banerjee is a fellow of the
Econometric Society The Econometric Society is an international society of academic economists interested in applying statistical tools in the practice of econometrics. It is an independent organization with no connections to societies of professional mathematicians o ...
, a member of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
, and a fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
. In 1994, he received a
Sloan Research Fellowship The Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded annually by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 1955 to "provide support and recognition to early-career scientists and scholars". This program is one of the oldest of its kind in the United States. ...
, awarded annually to early career researchers with the "potential to revolutionize their fields." According to
Research Papers in Economics Research Papers in Economics (RePEc) is a collaborative effort of hundreds of volunteers in many countries to enhance the dissemination of research in economics. The heart of the project is a decentralized database of working papers, preprints, ...
, Banerjee is among the most productive development economists in the world, ranking in the top 75 researchers by total research output.


Early life and education

Banerjee was born to a
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
father and a
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
mother in
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
. His father, Dipak Banerjee, was a professor of economics at
Presidency College, Calcutta Presidency University, formerly Presidency College, is a public state university located in College Street, Kolkata. Established in 1817 as the ''Hindoo College'', it was later renamed ''Presidency College'' in 1855 and functioned as a leadi ...
, and received his
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
from the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
under the supervision of
Richard Lipsey Richard George Lipsey, (born August 28, 1928) is a Canadian academic and economist. He is best known for his work on the Theory of the Second Best, economics of the second-best, a theory that demonstrated that piecemeal establishing of individu ...
. His mother, Nirmala (née Patankar) Banerjee was a professor at the
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta (CSSSC) is a social science and humanities research and teaching institute in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. History Established in 1973 jointly by the Indian Council of Social Science Research and ...
. Banerjee attended secondary school at
South Point School South Point is a higher-secondary co-educational private school located in Kolkata, West Bengal and affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education, consisting of three organisations – South Point School (nursery to Class V), South Point ...
in
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
, where he was described as a "brilliant" but "very quiet" student. During high school, he was interested in literature, history, philosophy, and mathematics, choosing to pursue his undergraduate studies in the latter at the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. He dropped out of the program after one week, transferring to Presidency College, then an affiliate of the
University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
, to study economics. Banerjee spent three years at
Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
, receiving a BSc (Honors) in Economics in 1981. He took classes with his father, Dipak Banerjee, in addition to
Mihir Rakshit Mihir Rakshit (born 1 July 1936) is an Indian economist, known for his work on fiscal, monetary and other policy, especially issues that concern developing economies. Originally from Chittagong, which is now in Bangladesh, he did his graduation ...
. His favorite subject was
economic history Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the Applied economics ...
, taught by Nabhendu Sen. After completing his undergraduate studies, Banerjee pursued an MA in Economics at
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...
, selecting to study there over the
Delhi School of Economics Delhi School of Economics (DSE), popularly referred to as D School, is an institution of higher learning within the Delhi University. The Delhi School of Economics is situated in University of Delhi's North Campus in Maurice Nagar. Establishe ...
because of its political life, and the latter's reputation as a stepping stone to
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
programs in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, which Banerjee had little interest in pursuing. His teachers included
Anjan Mukherjee Anjan Mukherjee is an American businessman and investor. He is the Managing Partner and founder of the investment firm BayPine. Previously, he was a senior executive at the Blackstone Group, and served as Counselor to the Secretary of the U.S. Tre ...
and Krishna Bharadwaj, the latter of whom taught a course on the history of economic thought. While studying at JNU, Banerjee was arrested, imprisoned, and beaten at
Tihar Jail Tihar Prisons, popularly known as Tihar Jail, are a prison complex in India and are one of the largest complexes of prisons in India. There are 9 functional prisons spread over more than 400 acres. Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, the prison ...
, in response to a protest in which students
gherao Gherao, meaning "encirclement", is a word which denotes a tactic used by labour activists and union leaders in India; it is similar to picketing. Usually, a group of people would surround a politician or a government building until their demands a ...
ed the then vice chancellor of the university. He completed his degree in 1983, and was encouraged by his parents and teachers to apply for
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
programs in economics. Banerjee applied to
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
,
Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...
, and the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, attending the first of these despite no students from
Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...
having previously been admitted to the university. At
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
, his classmates included
Tyler Cowen Tyler Cowen (; born January 21, 1962) is an American economist, columnist, blogger, and podcaster. He is a professor at George Mason University, where he holds the Holbert L. Harris chair in the economics department. Cowen writes the "Economic ...
,
Alan Krueger Alan Bennett Krueger (September 17, 1960 – March 16, 2019) was an American economist who was the James Madison Professor of Political Economy at Princeton University and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He served ...
, Steven Kaplan, and
Nouriel Roubini Nouriel Roubini (; born March 29, 1958) is a Turkish-born Iranian-American economic consultant, economist, speaker and writer. He is a professor emeritus since 2021 at the Stern School of Business of New York University. Roubini earned a BA in p ...
. He attended courses with
Andreu Mas-Colell Andreu Mas-Colell (; born 29 June 1944) is an economist, an expert in microeconomics and a prominent mathematical economist. He is the founder of the Barcelona School of Economics and a professor in the department of economics at Pompeu Fabra ...
,
Lawrence Summers Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist who served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as the director of the National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010. He also served as presiden ...
, Kala Krishna, Oliver Hart, and
Susan Collins Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, she has held her seat since 1997 and is Maine's longest-serving member of ...
, and briefly served as a research assistant to
Jeffrey Sachs Jeffrey David Sachs ( ; born November 5, 1954) is an American economist and public policy analyst who is a professor at Columbia University, where he was formerly director of The Earth Institute. He worked on the topics of sustainable develop ...
. His dissertation research, supervised by
Eric Maskin Eric Stark Maskin (born December 12, 1950) is an American economist and mathematician. He was jointly awarded the 2007 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Leonid Hurwicz and Roger Myerson "for having laid the foundations of mechanism d ...
, was primarily theoretical, and examined the economics of information.


Academic career

Banerjee is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; he has taught at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
and
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
. He has also been a
Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...
and an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow. His work focuses on
development economics Development economics is a branch of economics that deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural c ...
. Together with Esther Duflo he has discussed
field experiments Field experiments are experiments carried out outside of laboratory settings. They randomization, randomly assign subjects (or other sampling units) to either treatment or control groups to test claims of causality, causal relationships. Rando ...
as an important methodology to discover causal relationships in economics. He was elected a fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
in 2004. In 2009, he received the
Infosys Prize The Infosys Prize is an annual award granted to scientists, researchers, engineers and social scientists of Indian origin (not necessarily born in India) by the Infosys Science Foundation and ranks among the highest monetary awards for researc ...
in the social sciences (economics) category. He served on the Social Sciences jury for the
Infosys Prize The Infosys Prize is an annual award granted to scientists, researchers, engineers and social scientists of Indian origin (not necessarily born in India) by the Infosys Science Foundation and ranks among the highest monetary awards for researc ...
in 2018. In 2012, he shared the
Gerald Loeb Award The Gerald Loeb Awards, also referred to as the Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, is a recognition of excellence in journalism, especially in the fields of business, finance and the economy. The award was e ...
Honorable Mention for Business Book with co-author Esther Duflo for their book ''
Poor Economics ''Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty'' (2011) is a non-fiction book by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, both professors of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Nobel Memorial Priz ...
''. In 2013, he was named by the United Nations Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...
to a panel of experts tasked with updating the
Millennium Development Goals In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These w ...
after 2015 (their expiration date). In 2014, he received the Bernhard-Harms-Prize from the
Kiel Institute for the World Economy The Kiel Institute for the World Economy (, or IfW Kiel) is an independent, non-profit economic research institute and think tank based in Kiel, Germany. In 2017, it was ranked as one of the top 50 most influential think tanks in the world and w ...
. In 2019, he delivered Export-Import Bank of India's 34th Commencement Day Annual Lecture on Redesigning Social Policy. In 2019, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, together with Esther Duflo and
Michael Kremer Michael Robert Kremer (born November 12, 1964) is an American Development economics, development economist currently serving as university professor in economics at the University of Chicago and director of the Development Innovation Lab at th ...
, "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty".


Research and work in India

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 A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical ...
, similar to clinical trials in medical research. For example, although
polio vaccination Polio vaccines are vaccines used to prevent poliomyelitis (polio). Two types are used: an inactivated vaccine, inactivated poliovirus given by injection (IPV) and a attenuated vaccine, weakened poliovirus given by mouth (OPV). The World Healt ...
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 Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
, 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. Banerjee is a co-founder of
Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology aimed to reducing poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by rigorous, scientific evidence. J-PAL funds, provides ...
(along with economists
Esther Duflo Esther Duflo, FBA (; born 25 October 1972) is a French-American economist currently serving as the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2019, she w ...
and
Sendhil Mullainathan Sendhil Mullainathan () (born c. 1973) is an American professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a professor of Computation and Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business from 2018- ...
). In India he serves on the academic advisory board of Plaksha University, a science and technology university established in 2010. Banerjee wrote a cookbook in 2021, ''Cooking To Save Your Life'', published by Juggernaut.


Personal life

Abhijit Banerjee was married to Dr. Arundhati Tuli Banerjee, a lecturer of literature at MIT. Abhijit and Arundhati had one son together and later divorced. Their son, born in 1991, died in an accident in 2016. In 2015, Banerjee married his co-researcher, MIT professor
Esther Duflo Esther Duflo, FBA (; born 25 October 1972) is a French-American economist currently serving as the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2019, she w ...
; they have two children, Noemie Banerjee (born 2012) and Milan Banerjee (born 2014). Banerjee was a joint supervisor of Duflo's PhD in economics at MIT in 1999. Duflo is also a professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at MIT.


Publications


Books

In 2019, he wrote together with
Esther Duflo Esther Duflo, FBA (; born 25 October 1972) is a French-American economist currently serving as the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2019, she w ...
his latest book, *"Good Economics for Hard Times," where he discusses possible solutions to a series of current issues such as inequality, climate change, and globalization. * * * * * * * Banerjee, Abhijit Vinayak ( 2019 ). ''A Short History of Poverty Measurements.''
Juggernaut Books Juggernaut Books is a publisher headquartered in New Delhi, India. Starting with digital books distributed via its website and mobile apps, it turned to publishing physical books later. History Juggernaut was founded by Durga Raghunath and ...
. *


Awards

Abhijit Banerjee was awarded the
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (), commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics(), is an award in the field of economic sciences adminis ...
in 2019 along with his two co-researchers
Esther Duflo Esther Duflo, FBA (; born 25 October 1972) is a French-American economist currently serving as the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2019, she w ...
and
Michael Kremer Michael Robert Kremer (born November 12, 1964) is an American Development economics, development economist currently serving as university professor in economics at the University of Chicago and director of the Development Innovation Lab at th ...
"for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty". The press release from the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...
noted: "Their experimental research methods now entirely dominate
development economics Development economics is a branch of economics that deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural c ...
." 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 Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
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 Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...
fewer than one in five third-grade students could correctly answer first-grade curriculum math test questions. ::"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." 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 his approach and pro-poor focus were seen as a negation of India's current government's right-wing ideology as well as broader development discourse. Banerjee's achievement of the Nobel Prize was received with a cold shoulder by the
right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
, which is in power at the Union level in India, because he was one of the economists that were consulted by
Rahul Gandhi Rahul Rajiv Gandhi (; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician. A member of the Indian National Congress (INC), he is currently serving as the 12th leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and as the member of the Lok Sabha for Rae Bareli Lok ...
in formulating an basic-income support scheme called NYAY, which was the main electoral promise of the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
in the
2019 Indian general election General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and vote ...
. In response to his criticism of the
Union government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...
's handling of the country's economy, Commerce & Industries Minister
Piyush Goyal Piyush Vedprakash Goyal (born 13 June 1964) is an Indian politician who is serving as Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India), Minister of Commerce and Industry since 2019. He also served as Minister of Textiles (India), Minister of Textiles ...
, while speaking on Banerjee's receiving of the Nobel Prize on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, stated that Banerjee's economic theories are based on a leftist viewpoint & by voting for the BJP, the Indian masses have 'totally rejected' his thoughts. BJP leader Rahul Sinha, who had served as the state BJP president in Banerjee's native state of
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
, downplayed his achievements & alleged
Anti-Indian sentiment Anti-Indian sentiment or anti-Indianism, also called Indophobia, refers to prejudice, collective hatred, and discrimination which is directed at Indian people for any variety of reasons. According to Kenyan-American academic Ali Mazrui, Indop ...
on the part of the
Nobel Committee A Nobel Committee is a working body responsible for most of the work involved in selecting Nobel Prize laureates. There are six awarding committees from four institutions, one for each Nobel Prize. Five of these committees are working bodies ...
for awarding Banerjee, who married
Esther Duflo Esther Duflo, FBA (; born 25 October 1972) is a French-American economist currently serving as the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2019, she w ...
a non-
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
person, shortly a year after divorcing his Indian wife. He was awarded the
Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...
(
Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
) by the
University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
in January 2020.Calcutta University Awards Doctor Of Letters Degree To Abhijit Banerjee
/ref> Abhijit Banerjee and
Esther Duflo Esther Duflo, FBA (; born 25 October 1972) is a French-American economist currently serving as the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2019, she w ...
received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...
in September 2022.


See also

*
Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher. Sen has taught and worked in England and the United States since 1972. In 1998, Sen received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions ...
, economist and the first Indian to receive a Nobel prize in the field


References


External links


Abhijit Banerjee's Home Page at MIT
includin
his CV with comprehensive lists of awards and publications

Poverty Action Lab
* *
Publications
at the
National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic co ...
* including the Prize Lecture 8 December 2019 ''Field experiments and the practice of economics'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Banerjee, Abhijit 1961 births Living people American people of Bengali descent American people of Marathi descent 20th-century Bengalis 21st-century Bengalis Marathi people People from Mumbai People from Maharashtra Presidency University, Kolkata alumni University of Calcutta alumni Jawaharlal Nehru University alumni Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences faculty 20th-century Indian economists 21st-century Indian economists 21st-century American economists Naturalized citizens of the United States People who lost Indian citizenship Indian emigrants to the United States 21st-century American writers Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Indian microfinance people Indian male writers Writers from Kolkata 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers Indian Nobel laureates Indian political writers American academics of Indian descent American Nobel laureates Nobel laureates in Economics Development economists