Political Fallout? Nobel Laureates Banerjee And Duflo Leave US

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India-West News Desk

BOSTON, MA – Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo are leaving the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to join the University of Zurich (UZH) in Switzerland, where they will establish a new center for development economics.

The 2019 Nobel Economics Prize winners, known for their groundbreaking experimental approach to alleviating global poverty, will co-lead the Lemann Center for Development, Education, and Public Policy at UZH, holding endowed professorships funded by the Lemann Foundation. The center aims to connect cutting-edge research with global education policy and real-world impact.

While no statement has been made to the effect, media and social media are rife with the belief that the departure signals a potential “brain drain” from the U.S., where scientists, technocrats and thinkers, citing cuts to research funding and concerns over academic freedoms under the Trump administration are leaving the country. Duflo herself co-signed an editorial in Le Monde earlier this year, denouncing “unprecedented attacks” on U.S. science.

Meanwhile MIT has publicly defended academic freedom, turning down being a part of the “ Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” a proposal by the Trump administration offering federal funding to select universities in exchange for implementing specific ideological and policy reforms.

UZH President Michael Schaepman hailed the move, calling Banerjee and Duflo “two of the world’s most influential economists.” Duflo added that the new center will allow them to “build on and expand our work, which bridges academic research, student mentorship, and real-world policy impact.”