Wouldn’t Have Won Nobel Had I Been Based In India, Asserts Indian-American Economist Abhijit Banerjee

India born Nobel laureate and economist Abhijit Banerjee said on Sunday (26 January) that he wouldn't have won the prestigious honour had he have been based in India, reports The Indian Express.

Clarifying his assertion, Banerjee who had won the prize for his work towards “experimental approach to alleviating global poverty” said, “It is not that there is a dearth of talent here, but bringing together of people on a large scale changes it. It is hard to do it alone.”

He shared this award with his wife and economist Esther Duflo.

Banerjee also added that he had enormously benefited from being at MIT where he got to work alongside the world's best potential PhD students. He said, “All this work I am taking credit for is mostly done by others.”

In India, Banerjee had pursued his education at the University of Calcutta and the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. Post that, he pursued and achieved his PhD from Harvard University and is now engaged as a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Banerjee was speaking as a guest at the Jaipur Literature Festival.