Book Review: 'Poor Economics For Kids' By Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo

When Esther Duflo received the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics along with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer, she was asked to donate an object to the Nobel Museum. She presented the Museum a number of titles published by the Indian publisher, Pratham Books. Her association with Pratham, a not-for-profit publisher which brings out accessible books for children and supports children’s reading across India, began many years ago. Esther is delighted that she has now turned children’s book author with her new book series, ‘Poor Economics for Kids’, published by Pratham in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada and Tamil. Both the Indian language editions and the English series (pub. Juggernaut Books) of ‘Poor Economics for Kids’ were launched on July 11 at Alliance Française de Delhi. At the launch, supported by the French Institute in India in collaboration with the Alliance Françaises network, Esther and French illustrator Cheyenne Olivier shared the details of their creative process.

“It was a lot of fun,” said an animated Esther. “I wrote it because I’ve always wanted to write stories. And I was compelled to work on this series since there is a lack of genuine representation of life in poverty in children’s books.” The stories in the series, which are woven around characters such as little Nilou and her friends who live in a village, break down complex concepts for young readers. Economics, poverty, health, children’s rights, education, migration, gender equality—the stories along with the vibrant illustrations explain the nuances of these big ideas in an engaging way. Esther has based the fictional characters in the series on the many real children she met across the world during her work trips and other travels. Her own children, who were aged five and seven when she started work on the series, would comment on the characters and the stories as they were being worked on. They offered a refreshing perspective on her creations.

Cheyenne was a bit puzzled at the start since the stories are not set in a specific country or town or village. They could be taking place in “India or Kenya or Vietnam or elsewhere”. As an illustrator, she needed specific details of the setting, based on which she would decide the physical attributes of the characters such as skin tone and hair style as well as the kind of clothing they wear. Eventually, she found a suitable style to illustrate the series and make the characters come alive. “For me it was all about communicating with readers,” said Cheyenne. “We had to break down the complicated economic concepts found in adult books. And I wanted to avoid visual stereotypes and cliched ideas about poverty while illustrating the series.” Both the author and the illustrator are hopeful that children across India will relate to the stories.

Will young readers who enjoy reading the fantasy and adventure genres be engaged by these stories? Esther is confident that they will. “Harry Potter may be set in a magical place but the characters deal with familiar issues—friendships, relationships, school, student-teacher bonds,” she says. “The stories in ‘Poor Economics for Kids’ too deal with familiar issues. Children living in poverty will see their lives reflected on the pages. Others will be able to understand and empathise with problems children from different backgrounds face.”

The five-book series was originally written in French by Esther and illustrated by Cheyenne.  The French edition, published in 2022 and 2023, was well-received by young readers, parents, and educators. “We wanted to bring the series to Indian kids,” said Esther, who has met and interacted with children living in poverty during her many trips to India. She is glad that the Indian language books (published as individual stories) of her series are priced reasonably and will be affordable for readers from different economic brackets.  

In 2013, Esther and Abhijit Banerjee published a book for adults called Poor Economics: Rethinking Poverty & the Ways to End It. It focused on how economic choices play out in the lives of extremely poor people. The extremely poor have Rs 50 or less to pay for their needs daily. About 600 million people in the world fall into this category. The book featured stories of people living in extreme poverty, the problems they grapple with, their fighting spirit, and the systemic inequalities that keep them poor. The stories in ‘Poor Economics for Kids’ weave together fragments of the same stories, animated by Esther’s imaginative flourishes and Cheyenne’s magic touch. While correcting the imbalance in the representation of kids living in poverty in children’s literature and simplifying grand economic concepts for young readers, ‘Poor Economics for Kids’ also has the potential to spark conversations about social justice and equality.