How Can Empirical and Experimental Development Economics Help Eradicate Global Poverty?

Abstract

The 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. This recognition simultaneously validated development economics, reintegrating it into the mainstream of economic science, and institutionalized the now-widespread methodology of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), which has enabled the empirical investigation and understanding of the nature of poverty. Critics of this method emphasize, among other points, that a macro-level perspective is not only indispensable for understanding the challenges of development but is fundamentally necessary—especially if the economics profession seeks to formulate actionable recommendations at the level of public policy. Do research projects conducted through randomized controlled trials truly ignore the "big picture," and do they inherently obstruct the shaping of discourse for policy purposes in the field of global poverty alleviation? Esther Duflo’s public engagements and contributions suggest otherwise; in fact, they demonstrate the opposite. Empirical research findings obtained at the community level can indeed be translated into macro-level action programs, doing so in a manner that remains accessible even to those who do not speak the specialized language of economics.