Esther Duflo

"We must measure progress in terms that matter to people."

"Evidence shows that small changes can save lives."

"The poor deserve our commitment to their wellbeing."

"We should celebrate every step forward."

"The poor are the agents of their own destiny."

"We must be willing to change our minds based on evidence."

"The poor are not lazy, they are trapped in systems that make it hard to succeed."

"We need to listen to what the poor tell us about their own lives rather than imposing our assumptions."

"Small changes can have surprisingly large effects when you understand the right leverage points."

"Data should serve people, not the other way around."

"The best way to help is often to ask the right questions and then listen carefully."

"Poverty is not about lacking money alone, it's about lacking opportunities and information."

"We must test our assumptions about what works in development and admit when we are wrong."

"Hope comes from evidence that change is possible, not from blind optimism."

"The randomized controlled trial is not a luxury, it's a moral imperative to help people effectively."

"Access to information can be as important as access to money for breaking cycles of poverty."

"We often overestimate what poor people need and underestimate what they already know."

"Small interventions, rigorously tested, often outperform grand plans that lack evidence."

"The poor make rational decisions within their constraints; we must understand those constraints."

"Education is not charity, it is an investment in human potential."

"Patience with rigorous methodology beats enthusiasm without evidence."

"The questions we ask determine the answers we find and the solutions we create."

"Dignity matters as much as dollars in development work."

"We should be suspicious of solutions that seem too simple or too universal."

"Understanding why people do what they do is the first step toward effective change."

"The poor are not a problem to be solved, they are people with agency and dreams."

"Incremental progress beats perfectionism when lives are at stake."

"We learn more from failures we measure than from successes we assume."

"Empathy without evidence is just good intention; combine them both."

"The best development policy listens to the people it aims to serve."