Poor Economics : A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

Winner of the 2011 Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Best Business Book of the Year AwardBillions 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.Learn more at www.pooreconomics.com Billions Of Government Dollars, And Thousands Of Charitable Organizations And Ngos, Are Dedicated To Helping The World's Poor. But Much Of The Work They Do Is Based On Assumptions That Are Untested Generalizations At Best, Flat Out Harmful Misperceptions At Worst. Banerjee And Duflo Have Pioneered The Use Of Randomized Control Trials In Development Economics. Work Based On These Principles, Supervised By The Poverty Action Lab At Mit, Is Being Carried Out In Dozens Of Countries. Their Work Transforms 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. Throughout, The Authors Emphasize That Life For The Poor Is Simply Not Like Life For Everyone Else: It Is A Much More Perilous Adventure, Denied Many Of The Cushions And Advantages That Are Routinely Provided To The More Affluent-- Think Again, Again -- Private Lives. A Billion Hungry People? ; Low-hanging Fruit For Better (global) Health? ; Top Of The Class ; Pak Sudarno's Big Family -- Institutions. Barefoot Hedge-fund Managers ; The Men From Kabul And The Eunuchs Of India : The (not So) Simple Economics Of Lending To The Poor ; Saving Brick By Brick ; Reluctant Entrepreneurs ; Policies, Politics -- In Place Of A Sweeping Conclusion. Abhijit V. Banerjee, Esther Duflo. Includes Index. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This book offers a view of the lives of the world's poorest people, helping to explain why the poor tend to borrow in order to save, why they miss out on free life-saving immunizations but pay for drugs that they do not need, and the cointerintuitive challenges faced by those living on less than 99 cents a day. Billions of government dollars, and thousands of charitable organizations and NGOs, are dedicated to helping the world's poor. But much of the work they do is based on assumptions that are untested generalizations at best, flat out harmful misperceptions at worst. The authors have pioneered the use of randomized control trials in development economics. Work based on these principles, supervised by the Poverty Action Lab at MIT, is being carried out in dozens of countries. Their work transforms 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. Throughout, the authors emphasize that life for the poor is simply not like life for everyone else: it is a much more perilous adventure, denied many of the cushions and advantages that are routinely provided to the more affluent "Billions of government dollars, and thousands of charitable organizations and NGOs, are dedicated to helping the world's poor. But much of the work they do is based on assumptions that are untested generalizations at best, flat out harmful misperceptions at worst. Banerjee and Duflo have pioneered the use of randomized control trials in development economics. Work based on these principles, supervised by the Poverty Action Lab at MIT, is being carried out in dozens of countries. Their work transforms 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. Throughout, the authors emphasize that life for the poor is simply not like life for everyone else : it is a much more perilous adventure, denied many of the cushions and advantages that are routinely provided to the more affluent"-- Résumé de l'éditeur "Billions of government dollars, and thousands of charitable organizations and NGOs, are dedicated to helping the world's poor. But much of the work they do is based on assumptions that are untested generalizations at best, flat out harmful misperceptions at worst. Banerjee and Duflo have pioneered the use of randomized control trials in development economics. Work based on these principles, supervised by the Poverty Action Lab at MIT, is being carried out in dozens of countries. Their work transforms 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. Throughout, the authors emphasize that life for the poor is simply not like life for everyone else: it is a much more perilous adventure, denied many of the cushions and advantages that are routinely provided to the more affluent"-- Provided by publisher The winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics upend the most common assumptions about how economics works in this gripping and disruptive portrait of how poor people actually live. Why do the poor borrow to save? Why do they miss out on free life-saving immunizations, but pay for unnecessary drugs? In Poor Economics, Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, two award-winning MIT professors, answer these questions based on years of field research from around the world. Called "marvelous, rewarding" by the Wall Street Journal, the book offers a radical rethinking of the economics of poverty and an intimate view of life on 99 cents a day. Poor Economics shows that creating a world without poverty begins with understanding the daily decisions facing the poor. Why do the poor borrow to save? Why do they miss out on free life-saving immunizations, but pay for unnecessary drugs? In Poor Economics , Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, two practical visionaries working toward ending world poverty, answer these questions from the ground. In a book the Wall Street Journal called marvelous, rewarding, the authors tell how the stress of living on less than 99 cents per day encourages the poor to make questionable decisions that feednot fightpoverty. The result is a radical rethinking of the economics of poverty that offers a ringside view of the lives of the worlds poorest, and shows that creating a world without poverty begins with understanding the daily decisions facing the poor. From the award-winning founders of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at MIT: A transformative reappraisal of the world of the extreme poor, their lives, desires, and frustrations "A marvelously insightful book by two outstanding researchers on the real nature of poverty." --Amartya Sen