Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo to leave US for Switzerland
The married couple, who won the 2019 Nobel Economics Prize alongside Michael Kremer for their "experimental approach to alleviating global poverty," will join UZH's economics faculty.
US-based Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee are set to leave the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and join the University of Zurich (UZH), where they will establish a new centre for development economics.
The move is scheduled for July next year, the Swiss institution announced Friday (10 October), reports AFP.
The married couple, who won the 2019 Nobel Economics Prize alongside Michael Kremer for their "experimental approach to alleviating global poverty," will join UZH's economics faculty.
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They will establish and co-lead the new Lemann Center for Development, Education and Public Policy, which aims to foster policy-relevant research and connect researchers and education policymakers around the world.
Duflo, a dual US-French national, and Indian-born Banerjee will each have an endowed professorship at UZH, funded by the Lemann Foundation. They will retain part-time positions at MIT.
The relocation comes at a time when experts are warning that cuts to research funding and attacks on academic freedoms under US President Donald Trump could lead to a brain drain of scientists.
Duflo co-signed an editorial in the Le Monde newspaper in March, denouncing "unprecedented attacks" on US science.
Reacting to the announcement, University of Zurich president Michael Schaepman said, "We are delighted that two of the world's most influential economists are joining UZH."
Duflo commented that the new Lemann Center would enable the couple to "build on and expand our work, which bridges academic research, student mentorship and real-world policy impact."
This year's Nobel Prize in Economics will be announced on 13 October.
