Poor Economics

A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

By: Abhijit V. Banerjee, Esther Duflo

Narrated by: Brian Holsopple

Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Billions of government dollars, and thousands of charitable organizations and NGOs, are dedicated to helping the world’s poor. But much of their work is based on assumptions that are untested generalizations at best, harmful misperceptions at worst.

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo have pioneered the use of randomized control trials in development economics. Work based on these principles, supervised by the Poverty Action Lab, is being carried out in dozens of countries. Drawing on this and their 15 years of research from Chile to India, Kenya to Indonesia, they have identified wholly new aspects of the behavior of poor people, their needs, and the way that aid or financial investment can affect their lives. Their work defies certain presumptions: that microfinance is a cure-all, that schooling equals learning, that poverty at the level of 99 cents a day is just a more extreme version of the experience any of us have when our income falls uncomfortably low.

This important book illuminates how the poor live, and offers all of us an opportunity to think of a world beyond poverty.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2011 Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo. (P)2011 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

“Reads like a version of Freakonomics for the poor.” ( Fast Company)

“A must... for anyone who cares about world poverty. Poor Economics represents the best that economics has to offer.” (Steven D. Levitt, author of Freakonomics)

“A marvelously insightful book by two outstanding researchers on the real nature of poverty.” (Amartya Sen, winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics)

Required reading for anyone who wants to help

Anyone interested in helping developing countries or underserved communities need to read this book. If you are interested in micro lending, there’s a section that deals with when it has and hasn’t worked and why. If you are involved in policy making, there are very practical suggestions on how to improve implementation. If you are disheartened in humanitarian work, this will give insight into why it hasn’t adjusted worked and how it can be done better. This very pragmatic approach looks at different view points from Easterly to Sachs and share the results of extensive studies to see what actually influences the decisions of the poor, why well intended policies fail, and how progress can be made without overturning an entire government regime. If you are involved in nonprofit work, a social enterprise, a government position, or just a well meaning person who wants to help where you can, read this book! It’s from an economists point of view-but told in simple terms with loads of evidence and grounded in true stories from 18 countries. It’s a great mix of theory exploration to practical suggestions.

Informative and insightful

The book was enlightening for someone who is both an entrepreneur and a former bureaucrat.Wish I read this book much earlier

Subtle and Balanced

The experimental approach to understanding poverty highlights subtleties I didn't appreciate previously. Very enriching experience. The authors don't get carried away to jump to a conclusion quickly, so you might have to be patient with that.

Economic that work action for positive change for all

Michael, audible concierge, recommended this book time. It is awesome. It talks of statistically test, sampling and most of using decoys to check of promises are kept by Government or NGO. It recommended the policy makers to ask the population they serve instead assuming what they need but ask first. Policy before politics. Statistically prove the needs before policy and politics. The economic discussions were not panacea but tested actions which government expected to work without asking the population. He talked about the entrepreneurship of the poor and how it successes or fails. I plan to read this book again and use it as reference for a social venture. A MUST READ FOR ANYONE IN SOCIETY who have the helping heart.

Packed with surprising results

Research-based insights that will surprise most of us. Must-read for the socially conscious. This book is packed with experimental-quality data and conclusions that gives us all the opportunity to help reduce poverty with initiatives that actually work.

A brief but informative review of the poor in the third world

The studies presented in the book might be novel for westerners, which is why they are important. Policy making is not about sitting in an office and having seminars in English. It’s more about doing field research and social experiments on the ground.

Finally! An unbiased research based analysis

A straight forward and research based analysis of the problem of extreme poverty in the developing world. It is so refreshing to find clean data and solid research rather than the terribly biased ultra progressive/politically motivated pseudo-research that is the basis for much of the money thrown at the problem of extreme poverty. Using the authors suggestions would not necessarily in cheaper solutions to the problem, but would definitely lead to faster meaningful improvements to extreme poverty. I would like to see the authors produce a work like this focused on the lesser poverty existing in developed nations.

Intelligent, often counter-intuitive and leaves more questions than answers

Challenging book, certainly no easy answers to take away. A bit dry in parts - requires your concentration - but the research findings are quite astonishing at times.
If you're looking for a simple ideology on poverty and aid, look somewhere else. If you're willing to dig in and navigate your way through the nuances then this might be for you.

Wonderful Experience

Amazing author and the perfect man to read it. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about the world outside of our comfort zone.

Datos que reemplazan la intuición

Muy buen libro, basado en estudios estadísticos que nos llevan a reformular el conocimiento que tenemos sobre cómo y porqué toma las decisiones que toma la gente menos favorecida económicamente.