Definition
Pascaline Dupas is a French-American economist specializing in development economics, with a focus on health, education, and poverty alleviation. She holds a faculty position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management and is a senior research fellow at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL).
Overview
Dupas earned her Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2007. Following her doctorate, she joined the faculty of the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she serves as Professor of Economics. Her research employs field experiments, particularly randomized controlled trials (RCTs), to evaluate the effectiveness of policies and interventions aimed at improving outcomes for low‑income populations in developing countries. Dupas’s work has been published in leading academic journals such as The Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review, and The Review of Economic Studies. She has also contributed to policy discussions at international organizations, including the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme.
Etymology/Origin
The given name “Pascaline” is the feminine form of “Pascal,” a French name derived from the Latin Paschalis, meaning “relating to Easter.” The surname “Dupas” is of French origin, traditionally a locational name meaning “from the pasture” (du pas). Together, the name reflects French linguistic roots.
Characteristics
- Research Methodology: Predominantly uses experimental and quasi‑experimental designs to assess causal impacts of interventions.
- Key Areas of Study:
- Health economics: immunization, malaria prevention, and family planning.
- Education economics: learning outcomes, school attendance, and teacher incentives.
- Financial inclusion: savings behavior, micro‑credit, and insurance uptake among the poor.
- Notable Contributions:
- Demonstrated the impact of providing free or subsidized insecticide‑treated bed nets on malaria incidence.
- Showed that conditional cash transfers can improve school attendance and learning outcomes in low‑resource settings.
- Investigated the role of information and framing in influencing health‑related decisions.
- Professional Affiliations: Member of the American Economic Association, the Econometric Society, and the International Association for Applied Econometrics. Serves on editorial boards for several economics journals.
- Awards and Honors: Recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2010) and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2012).
Related Topics
- Development economics
- Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in social science
- Poverty alleviation policies
- Health interventions in low‑income countries
- Education policy evaluation
- Microfinance and financial inclusion
- Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J‑PAL)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management.