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Abhijit Banerjee (Nobel Winner) Biography: Age, Career, Family andMore

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 3, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth21 February 1961

Age64 Years

BirthplaceKolkata, India

ProfessionEconomist

NationalityAmerican

Marital statusMarried

SpouseEsther Duflo

FamilySon Kabir Banerjee (deceased)

Abhijit Banerjee (Nobel Winner) Biography

Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee is an Indian‑born economist known for pioneering field experiments in development economics and for sharing the 2019 Nobel Prizein

Early life and background

Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee was born on 21 February 1961 in Kolkata, India, into a family of economists. He grew up in Kolkata, attended South Point School, and spent his childhood playing near his neighbourhood, where he came into contact with children from a nearby slum. His parents, Dipak and Nirmala Banerjee, were both academics in economics; his father headed the Department of Economics at Presidency College, and his mother taught at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences in Calcutta. Banerjee completed a B.S. in economics at Presidency College in 1981 and then an M.A. in economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1983. He earned a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University in 1988.

Career

Banerjee’s academic work focuses on development economics. He has advocated the use of field experiments to identify causal relationships in economic research and has taught at several prestigious institutions, including Harvard and Princeton, before becoming the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His doctoral thesis was titled "Essays in Information Economics," and his doctoral advisor was Eric Maskin. Among his doctoral students are Esther Duflo, Dean Karlan, and Benjamin Jones.

He is the author and co‑editor of several books and collections on development and poverty, including titles such as Volatility and Growth (2005), Making Aid Work (2005), Understanding Poverty (2006), Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty (2011), and the Handbook of Field Experiments (2017). His research and applied work have been recognized by numerous grants, fellowships, lectureships and prizes throughout his career.

In 2013 he was appointed by the then United Nations Secretary‑General to a panel of experts charged with updating the Millennium Development Goals. The pinnacle of his career recognition came in 2019 when he shared the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.

Public profile

Banerjee is described as someone who enjoys classical music, cooking, and sports such as cricket and table tennis. He has been characterized by family and friends as a strong presence within his circle of school friends, and his mother has spoken about his early talents, love of food and sports, and his habit of cooking for family and friends. He maintains ties to Kolkata and is a member of the Tollygunge Club, where he plays table tennis when visiting.

Banerjee’s public role has sometimes drawn political attention. Ahead of the 2019 Indian general election, his name was mentioned in connection with a proposed guaranteed minimum income scheme; he publicly clarified that his contribution was limited to supplying information to inform choices rather than designing the policy itself. He also received the Nobel Prize while wearing Indian attire when he accepted the award on 14 October 2019.

Personal life

Banerjee has been married twice. His first marriage was to Arundhati Tuli Banerjee, a literature lecturer at MIT; the couple had a son, Kabir, who later studied at institutions including MIT and UCL and who died around March 2016. In 2015 Banerjee married economist Esther Duflo, who had been one of his doctoral students and later a long‑time collaborator. Banerjee is of Bengali Indian ethnicity and holds American nationality. He is known to be non‑vegetarian and enjoys regional dishes; his favourite dessert is reported to be Bengali sandesh.

Latest updates

Banerjee continues to be active in research and public engagement around issues of poverty and development. His work remains influential in shaping how economists design and evaluate interventions in low‑income settings, and he remains a prominent voice in international development circles.
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Recent Work

Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

A book presenting findings and policy implications from field experiments in development economics.

2011
Handbook of Field Experiments, Volume 1 & 2

Edited volumes bringing together research using field experiments to study development questions.

2017
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Career Highlights

  1. Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University (1988)
  2. Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at MIT
  3. Appointed to UN panel to update the Millennium Development Goals (2013)
  4. Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2019)
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Abhijit Banerjee (Nobel Winner) born?

21 February 1961

What is Abhijit Banerjee (Nobel Winner) known for?

Economist

What is Abhijit Banerjee (Nobel Winner)’s marital status?

Married

Who is Abhijit Banerjee (Nobel Winner) married to?

Esther Duflo