… or does it continue to prop up corrupt regimes?  Does aid make a difference?  And the ultimate question: can we end poverty?

Esther Duflo thinks we can.  She is the Co-Founder and Director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, a network of professors around the world uniting to answer questions critical to poverty alleviation.  She is also a Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Developmental Economics at MIT.  Her book, Poor Economics, co-authored with Abhijit V. Banerjee, documents their 15 years of experience in conducting randomized control trials to alleviate poverty.

This 20-minute talk by Esther Duflo contains facts and statistics about poverty and aid in Africa that might surprise you.  We highly recommend it!