US-based Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo will join the University of Zurich and establish a new center for development economics. The announcement came from the University of Zurich with no mention of what prompted them to take the decision to leave the US and to move to Switzerland. Banerjee and Duflo won the 2019 Nobel Economics Prize alongside Michael Kremer for their “experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”.At the University of Zurich, they will also establish and co-lead the new Lemann Center for Development, Education and Public Policy, with an aim to foster policy-relevant research and connect researchers and education policymakers around the world. “We are delighted that two of the world’s most influential economists are joining UZH,” university president Michael Schaepman said.

MIT rejects Trump funding terms

Banerjee and Duflo’s decision to move to Zurich comes as MIT became the first major US university to reject the conditions set by the Trump administration for federal funding. In a letter to Trump administration officials, MIT president Sally Kornbluth said MIT disagrees with provisions of the proposal, including some that would limit free speech and the university’s independence. She said it’s inconsistent with MIT’s belief that scientific funding should be based on merit alone.“Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education,” Kornbluth said in a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and White House officials.

Part-time role at MIT

Duflo confirmed that they will keep part-time roles at MIT and continue leading their research network. Duflo is a dual US-French national and Banerjee is an Indian-American economist. Banerjee has worked at MIT since the late 1980s and became a US citizen. Duflo has been with MIT since 1999. While some commentators expressed concerns, calling it a global brain drain from the US because of Trump choking funds, Duflo, in March, co-signed an editorial in Le Monde newspaper denouncing “unprecedented attacks” on US science.