Two Nobel prizewinning economists are moving to Europe from an elite US university, becoming the latest academics to leave the country during Donald Trump¡¯s second term.?

Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee, a married couple, were awarded the Nobel in Economics for their ¡°experimental approach to alleviating global poverty¡±, alongside economist Michael Kremer, in 2019.

The high-profile academics?are?leaving full-time posts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to take up endowed professorship positions at the University of Zurich (UZH) in July 2026 in a significant coup for the Swiss institution. They will retain part-time positions at MIT.

They have joined a growing number of senior scholars leaving the US higher education system as it faces unprecedented strain under the Trump administration.

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The news comes just days after Mark Bray, a history professor at Rutgers University, for his work writing about the anti-fascist movement in the US.

ÌÇÐÄVlog to 26,000 students, UZH is the largest university in Switzerland and a member of the prestigious League of European Research Universities.

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Duflo and Banerjee will establish and co-lead the new Lemann Center for Development, Education and Public Policy in UZH¡¯s Department of Economics, which aims to foster policy-relevant research and create new higher education pathways in policy evaluation and development.

UZH president Michael Schaepman described them as ¡°two of the world¡¯s most influential economists¡±, who combine scientific theory with social impact in their research.

¡°Their presence will strengthen the values and the international visibility of our university.¡±

Florian Scheuer, who heads the Department of Economics, said their hiring represented a ¡°true quantum leap¡± for the department.

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¡°Beyond their groundbreaking research, they are equally renowned for their extraordinary commitment to nurturing students and faculty and to institution-building.¡±

The new centre was made possible following a CHF 26 million (?24 million) donation from the Brazilian non-profit the Lemann Foundation.

Duflo, only the second woman and the youngest ever person to win a Nobel Prize in economics, said it would enable them to build on and expand their work, which bridges academic research, student mentorship and real-world policy impact.

¡°We have no doubt that the University of Zurich will be an excellent environment for us to pursue our research and policy work in the years to come,¡± added Banerjee.

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Duflo and Banerjee will continue to co-lead J-PAL, the worldwide network of economic researchers that they co-founded. Duflo will also resume teaching at the Coll¨¨ge de France in Paris, where she is chair of poverty and public policy.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com