In this episode, we welcome our first Nobel Prize winner to the podcast. Esther Duflo is Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in 2019 won the Nobel Prize for Economics, making her the youngest person and only the second woman ever to receive this award.   We discuss Esther’s remarkable career journey, her research into the relationship between female leaders and women’s empowerment in India, and the role of economics as “a lever of action for the world”.   Economics is a notoriously un-diverse field and has a long history of systematic sexism. So we also spoke to Esther about her experience navigating this “locker room” culture, how we can get more women into economics, and what the future holds for the field following the #MeToo movement.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.