Nobel Prize winners Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will join the University of Zurich (UZH) next year. The couple, who currently teach at MIT, will move to Switzerland in July.
At UZH, they will create and lead the Lemann Center for Development, Education and Public Policy. The center will connect researchers and policymakers to work on global education and development. Both economists will hold endowed professorships funded by the Lemann Foundation.
Duflo and Banerjee, along with Michael Kremer, received the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics for using experiments to fight global poverty. They will keep part-time roles at MIT while expanding their international projects through the new center.
Their move comes as US researchers face funding cuts and pressure on academic freedom. Some experts warn that these issues could cause a “brain drain” from American universities.
UZH President Michael Schaepman said the university is honored to welcome “two of the world’s most influential economists.” Duflo added that the new center will help them combine research, student mentoring, and real-world policy work.
