NOBEL PRIZE: Congratulations to Abhijit Banerjee, and Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics (The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel) has been awarded to Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Michael Kremer of Harvard University for their experiment-based approach to study the poverty alleviation programs.

Congratulations to all of them. While I have been in occasional touch with Abhijit Banerjee, I knew reasonably well when was a doctoral student at Harvard. We over-lapped in 1980s: I was at MIT as a doctoral student.

A scholar-friend wrote to me thus: “It was good to see Abhijit and Esther win the Nobel. Abhijit was a theorist before he made the transition to RCT and empirical work.” (RCT: Randomized Control Trial)

I am so very happy for Abhijit, Esther and Michael. More importantly, for the wonderful insights that their research has provided in improving the quality of life.

There have been so far only 9 Indian Nobelists. And Abhjit is one of them. What an honor!

The recognition also set me thinking of role of Serendipity. So much of life is unscripted.

Nobel Prizes can spring surprises. The Nobel committee did not include in its citation other scholars who have done similar work and are considered leading scholars Notably Sendhil Mulainathan and Raj Chetty. So, it is possible that Sendhil and Raj have missed the train. Or is it possible that they may yet receive the recognition — 20 years from now. They are both very young — in their mid-40s.

Of course, Jagdish Bhagawati is not ever likey going to get the recognition -- that bus has come and gone, the recognition should have come with Paul Krugman in 2008. But it did not for whatever reason.

I don't think Avinash Dixit's work is seminal enough, though Indian Government recognized him with Padma Vibhushan.

https://www.princeton.edu/~dixitak/home/

Raghuram Rajan is still a possibility if the Committee returns to Governance/Institutional Economics. But there is Daron Acemoglu (and scholars like him) who may be more attractive to the Committee.

https://www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/r/raghuram-g-rajan

https://economics.mit.edu/faculty/acemoglu

Sadly, George Sudarshan did not win it either (for Physics.) Of course, he is dead now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._C._George_Sudarshan

So much of life is serendipity.