Nobel Prize-winning economists Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee are set to join the University of Zurich (UZH) in July 2026, marking one of the most high-profile academic moves in recent years. The couple, currently professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will help establish a new centre for development economics at UZH.
New beginnings in Switzerland
The duo will take up endowed professorships supported by the Lemann Foundation and lead the creation of the Lemann Centre for Development, Education and Public Policy at UZH’s Department of Economics. The initiative will be backed by a CHF 26 million donation from the Lemann Foundation.
At the new centre, they will continue their pioneering research on poverty alleviation, education, and healthcare policy implementation. The couple will also expand their ADEPT program, designed to make high-quality academic and policy training more accessible worldwide.
“We are excited to contribute to making UZH’s Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics an even more attractive place for research and teaching,” Banerjee said.
Duflo added, “The new centre will enable us to continue and expand our work, bridging academic research, student mentorship, and real-world policy impact.”
Move amid concerns over US academia
While UZH’s official statement did not cite reasons for their relocation, reports suggest the couple’s move comes amid concerns over research funding cuts and growing threats to academic freedom in the US. Experts have described this as part of a broader trend of academic brain drain, with top scholars moving to European institutions offering greater research autonomy.
About the Nobel-winning economists
Duflo currently holds the Abdul Latif Jameel Professorship of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at MIT and serves as president of the Paris School of Economics. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Econometric Society.
Born in Mumbai, Abhijit Banerjee studied at the University of Calcutta, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and later earned his PhD from Harvard University. He is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at MIT.
In 2019, Banerjee, Duflo, and Michael Kremer jointly received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.
Lemann Foundation partnership
Jorge Paulo Lemann, founder and chairman of the Lemann Foundation, said the collaboration “reflects my trust in Brazil and Switzerland and the power of the two countries working together. It has special significance for my family and our initiative in education.”
Personal note
Banerjee and Duflo married in 2015 and co-founded the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a global network of researchers using randomized control trials to evaluate social policies. They have two children, Noemie and Milan.