You've heard about the Econ Nobelists’ contributions, but I’d like to share anecdotes on the personal impact that the trio have had on so many. Their humanity should not get overshadowed by their brilliance. They are excellent humans, first and foremost. vox.com/future-perfect…
In 2001 I was in the UMD Ph.D. program which had no faculty listing “development econ” as their primary field. I had no exposure to modern devo. #AbhijitBanerjee stopped by my poster at a @WIDER conf in Helsinki, and politely, gently explained that what I was doing was not great.
That was the most important 20 minutes of my Ph.D. educ. This is taking nothing away from my incredibly supportive PhD advisors who were in other fields
Abhijit and I were on same flight back, and he came back to Economy class to sit with me for an hour to chat! I learnt a lot
Abhijit and I were on same flight back, and he came back to Economy class to sit with me for an hour to chat! I learnt a lot
To put this in context: I was a complete nobody, with a level of “nobodyness” that most of you haven’t experienced. He gave up biz-class comfort to chat and inspire. He remains a friend and mentor. Plays ping pong to entertain my son when I combine parenting with work travel 
#EstherDuflo never misses an opportunity to promote and support the work of younger scholars. Here are pictures of her promoting @economeager's work, and @YaleRISE at a @YaleLawSch annual lecture. Such thoughtfulness makes it easier for us to grow at Yale.
Importantly for me, she took the time to console my father soon after my mother died. Here’s a “family pic” from that day with Esther, @AnnieDuflo, and both our dads, when we all attended Esther’s lecture.
She builds research infrastructure that others use, and it improves all of our work. Asked me to develop the Urban Services Initiative @JPAL, giving me exposure that I would otherwise never have. Many more people heard about my migration work thanks to her many public lectures.
#MichaelKremer is an enthusiastic supporter of @YaleRISE. We will continue our work on the complexities of scaling anti-poverty interventions with his guidance. He is the most modest, down-to-earth person I have the privilege of knowing, bar none.
Forever grateful to all 3
Forever grateful to all 3
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