The French-American developmental economist Esther Duflo received the A.SK Social Science Award on Saturday, October 10, at the WZB in recognition of her research on ways to alleviate poverty. The award, which comes with €100,000 in prize money, is one of the best endowed international grants in the social sciences. To study the efficiency of developmental aid measures, Esther Duflo used randomized controlled trials, a method typically applied in medical research, and thereby revolutionized the field of developmental economics.