‹ The Founder Bookshelf

Poor Economics cover

Poor Economics

A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

Fighting poverty by testing what actually works.

by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo

Poor Economics draws on years of randomized controlled trials to examine how the world's poor actually make decisions about health, education, savings, and risk. Banerjee and Duflo argue that grand theories matter less than understanding specific, local realities and rigorously testing interventions. The result is a evidence-driven rethinking of how to design programs that genuinely help.

The book is a masterclass in running experiments to replace assumptions with evidence, which is exactly how founders should approach product and growth decisions. It models the discipline of testing small, measuring honestly, and iterating instead of betting everything on a confident theory.

Where to get it