About 1.3 billion people are in extreme poverty, living on less than $1.25 a day. Meanwhile, some of the most powerful people in wealthy countries, like the U.S., say they want to help alleviate some of that poverty. Every year, individuals, charities and governments pour billions of dollars into aid, development and a range of causes. But how do you know what&#8217;s actually working and what&#8217;s a waste of time? Our guest today, MIT economist Esther Duflo, just won a Nobel Prize for using a hard science approach to answer that question.

Is this even working? Economist Esther Duflo is trying to find out.

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