Virtual Lecture by Prof. Esther Duflo 2019 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economic Sciences

Virtual Lecture by Prof. Esther Duflo

2019 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economic Sciences

Welcoming Remarks by

Dr. QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General 

31 May 2021 

 

1. We are honoured to have you with us today, Prof. Duflo.
2. As the Royal Swedish Academy of Science mentioned when awarding you the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, the work undertaken by you and your colleagues, has considerably improved the ability to fight global poverty.
3. Investigating smaller and more concretely defined research questions that can be easily answered yet contribute to answering the bigger questions.
4. This new approach, through the adoption of Randomized Control Trials, has transformed development economics and provided a wealth of data-driven evidence on the effective use of public money.
5. As a direct result of your work, millions of people are now better off.
6. FAO is committed to achieving the best possible delivery, and the work you are leading is crucial to understand what went well and what did not.
7. We recently launched the 2021 Global Report on Food Crises.
8. The report revealed that at least 155 million people in 55 countries experienced acute food insecurity at crisis or worse levels in 2020.
9. That is an increase of around 20 million from 2019.
10. The economic fallout of the pandemic, conflicts, and weather extremes intensified pre-existing fragilities.
11. The global goal of achieving ‘zero hunger’ by 2030 seems increasingly more difficult to reach, with multiple shock effects hitting already exhausted populations.
12. FAO is leading a strong and determined effort to define, build and sustain efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems all over the world.
13. We need to take bold action.
14. And we need proof – an evidence base to build upon, showing what has worked and what has not.
15. Last year, we launched the Impact Evaluation Task Force initiative to strengthen the culture of evaluation across the Organization.
16. A new approach that moves beyond simply reporting on outputs and results towards an emphasis on impact and outcomes.
17. By doing so, we aim to strengthen the quality and relevance of the advice and evidence-based technical assistance that we provide to Members and stakeholders.
18. Your work on impact evaluation, Professor Duflo, has strongly influenced the approach being followed by many.
19. The important contribution to the use of Randomized Control Trials has had a dramatic impact on our daily work.
20. Their use in development economics has helped improve direct aid and public policy.
21. The examples you will speak about today, the public health messaging campaign used in West Bengal, India, and to reach ethnic minority communities in the United States, demonstrate the perfect balance between technical rigour and effective use of modern technologies.
22. Modern technologies and innovative approaches are crucial to reach remote and inaccessible zones in a timely way.
23. FAO has developed the Hand-in-Hand Initiative, an evidence-based, country-led and country-owned initiative to accelerate agricultural transformation and sustainable rural development;
24. to eradicate poverty (SDG 1) and end hunger and all forms of malnutrition (SDG 2).
25. The Hand-in-Hand Geospatial platform website, available in all six FAO languages, makes use of modern technologies to provide easily and publicly available data-driven evidence
26. Our Hand-in-Hand initiative welcomes randomized control trials to find the best solutions, but it also aims at scaling up such solutions.
27. Here we still need some answers. I would like to invite you to form a technical task force with FAO to find a solution to the scaling up question!
28. We at FAO want to bring the best solutions at scale to rural areas and having a proper answer to the HOW is crucial for us.
29. Our Chief Economist will follow up with you on this, and this initiative will have my full support.
30. I know that we will learn a lot from your lecture today and look forward to working with you to make this world a better place.
31. Thank you.