Indian-American professor Abhijit Banerjee, wife Esther Duflo win Nobel Prize in Economics

Indian-origin economist Abhijit Banerjee, 58, was on Monday awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer were also named as co-winners of the prestigious award.

The trio was selected for their contribution in "experimental approach to alleviating global poverty."

Abhijit Banerjee, an Indian-American born in Kolkata, is currently the Ford Foundation international professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT).

Banerjee completed his bachelor's degree in economics at Presidency College, Kolkata and later gained a Masters degree in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) in Delhi.

He has also been a professor at Harvard where he completed his Ph.D. 

Banerjee shared the award with his wife Esther Duflo. Born in Paris, Esther, 46, is also a professor at MIT. In 1999, Abhijit was the joint supervisor of Esther's Ph.D in Economics. They were married in 2015 and have a son. 

Esther is the second woman and the youngest person to be awarded the Prize in Economic Sciences. 

During the press conference after the award was announced,  Esther Duflo said: "Showing that it is possible for a woman to succeed and be recognised for success." 

"I hope it is going to inspire many, many other women to continue working and many other men to give them the respect they deserve," Duflo added.