Esther Duflo elected to the American Philosophical Society

Esther Duflo, the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at MIT, is among 38 people newly elected to the American Philosophical Society (APS), the oldest learned society in the US, in recognition of outstanding achievement and leadership in a wide variety of disciplines. Election to the APS is a rare honor for economists, who make up just 3% of the society's membership.

The APS was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin to bring together creative thinkers in the sciences and other fields of study (then referred to as “natural philosophy”), for the broad purpose of “promoting useful knowledge.” A number of the nation's founders were members, as were well-known 19th and 20th-century figures such as Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, Louis Pasteur, Albert Einstein, Robert Frost, and Sandra Day O'Connor.

Announcing the new members for 2025, Roger S. Bagnall, President of the APS said, “It is a pleasure to announce a distinguished new class of members elected to the American Philosophical Society by its Members. Their work represents the highest levels of accomplishment in their respective fields and we look forward to welcoming them to the life and work of the Society.” 

Duflo received her PhD in economics from MIT in 1999 and joined the economics faculty that year. Her research focuses on understanding the economic lives of people living in poverty and informing effective social policies. She is co-founder and co-director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. Her work has been recognized with the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (with co-Laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer), the John Bates Clark Medal, and a MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship.