Professor Esther Duflo, co-founder and co-director of Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in economics, publishes the last five volumes in a series of ten children's books on poverty. The series is adapted from her 2011 work 'Rethinking Poverty,' which was authored with J-PAL co-founder, Abhijit Banerjee, with whom Duflo shares the Nobel Prize.
The stories in Duflo's children's book series are inspired by field experiences and the results of evaluations carried out over twenty years of policy-informing research. The books are designed to deconstruct biases against the poor and engage children, regardless of geography. Cheyenne Olivier's illustrations set the stories in an imaginary location through creative use of vibrant colors, shapes and curves inspired by the dynamics of poverty.