Book

Poor Economics

A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo

Public Affairs, 2011

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After decades of effort, billions of dollars, thousands of aid workers and hundreds of antipoverty programs, 865 million people still barely survive on the equivalent of less than a dollar a day. But that can change, one small clinic, one incentive and one schoolroom at a time according to this eye-opening work – The Financial Times/Goldman Sachs’ business book of the year for 2011. Authors and MIT economic researchers Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo report field-tested experiments showing that lifting the world’s poor into a more comfortable, productive life is possible, mostly with relatively simple changes, not masses of money. They call for understanding the human behaviors and motivations that drive all people, rich and poor alike, and apply that understanding to solving the seemingly overwhelming, intractable problem of global poverty. getAbstract strongly recommends this highly accessible yet scientific account of how to make life better for millions of people, while enabling the poor to contribute to the world’s economic and social progress.

Take-Aways

Some 865 million people manage to exist on the equivalent of less than a dollar a day.
Field studies show that a minor change in the lives of the poor can have a huge impact.
Combined supply- and demand-based incentives work best in impoverished countries.

About the Authors

Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo teach economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and direct the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, which is dedicated to lessening poverty through research-based efforts.

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A. 1 decade ago

This book could be of very high importance for the "decision-makers of the world" especially if those people are indifferent to other's people sufferings and are trying to solve the problems on the world-wide level. The main problem of course lies in the natural resource decreasing, thus the whole amount of clear water, air and food should be managed in very proper way, as somebody's private asset, asset for the future of our children.
H. S. getAbstract 1 decade ago

Dear Mr. RAGHAV,
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R. R. 1 decade ago

I am not able to down load today ps look into the issue

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