From the Poor Economics website:

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

“For more than fifteen years Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo have worked with the poor in dozens of countries spanning five continents, trying to understand the specific problems that come with poverty and to find proven solutions. Their book is radical in its rethinking of the economics of poverty, but also entirely practical in the suggestions it offers. Through a careful analysis of a very rich body of evidence, including the hundreds of randomized control trials that Banerjee and Duflo’s lab has pioneered, they show why the poor, despite having the same desires and abilities as anyone else, end up with entirely different lives.

Through their work, Banerjee and Duflo look at some of the most surprising facets of poverty: why the poor need to borrow in order to save, why they miss out on free life-saving immunizations but pay for drugs that they do not need, why they start many businesses but do not grow any of them, and many other puzzling facts about living with less than 99 cents per day.

POOR ECONOMICS argues that so much of anti-poverty policy has failed over the years because of an inadequate understanding of poverty. The battle against poverty can be won, but it will take patience, careful thinking and a willingness to learn from evidence. Banerjee and Duflo are practical visionaries whose meticulous workoffers transformative potential for poor people anywhere, and is a vital guide to policy makers, philanthropists, activists and anyone else who cares about building a world without poverty.”

I bought this book on a whim on one of my recent book binges. I hadn’t heard anything about this book prior to buying it, but was pleasantly surprised (and excited) when I found the book’s excellent website, among some great economics and development bloggers I follow who recommend the book. It is even used as required reading in many university-level development courses.

The book was also recently awarded the Best Business Book of the Year prize by the Financial Times (FT) and Goldman Sachs.

I have high expectations for the book after reading about it and I highly recommend you pick up a copy for your own economics/development collection. Those who recommend it say it is not heavy reading, so go buy it and dive in!

Disclaimer: I linked to Amazon.com for those money-conscious readers buying the book online, but I highly recommend supporting your local brick-and-mortar bookseller by buying it there instead.