"Those of us who were lucky enough to be born in the right countries have a moral obligation to reduce poverty and ill health in the world."
These are the words of Dr. Angus Deaton, the winner of the Nobel Prize in economics this week, a professor in economics and international affairs at Princeton University and a Senior Scientist at Gallup.
"I think Angus' monumental impact on economics, as reflected in his Nobel Prize, stems from his extreme mission to improve lives and worldwide capability," said Jim Harter, chief scientist at Gallup. "His in-depth analyses of worldwide Gallup data and subsequent publications have resulted in substantial advancements in well-being and survey methods science for Gallup and the world. I greatly admire his partnership with scientists outside his field and his attention to methods that cut across academic disciplines, which is quite rare."
Deaton has explored the themes of income, health and well-being in a career that has spanned more than 40 years. The Nobel Prize Committee honored Deaton's scholarship pertaining to consumption and poverty. "To design economic policy that promotes welfare and reduces poverty, we must first understand individual consumption choices," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in its press release. "More than anyone else, Angus Deaton has enhanced this understanding."
In the last decade, Deaton used Gallup's well-being and World Poll data substantially in economic studies such as "Income, Health and Wellbeing Around the World: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll." The Guardian deemed this paper published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives as Deaton's "best known paper of recent times."
"Angus not only helped us build the World Poll, he also used the resulting data to come up with research findings that changed the world," said Jon Clifton, managing director of the Gallup World Poll.
Deaton has furthered his mission to understand the modern state of worldwide well-being in a litany of landmark research on such topics as migration, HIV in Africa, the financial crisis in the U.S. and the challenges of aging. In these explorations, Deaton champions empirical research, defining a new path away from purely theoretical assertions.
Gallup congratulates Dr. Deaton.
The following are a selection of Angus Deaton's published articles using Gallup World Poll and Gallup Daily tracking data:
- Deaton, A. 2008. "Income, Health and Wellbeing Around the World: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll." Journal of Economic Perspectives 22 (2): 53-72. *very first publication using the World Poll
- Kahneman, D, and A Deaton. 2010. "High Income Improves Evaluation of Life but Not Emotional Well-Being." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107 (38): 16489-16493.
- Deaton, A, J Fortson, and R Tortora. 2010. "Life (Evaluation), HIV/AIDS, and Death in Africa." In International Differences in Well-Being. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
- Deaton, A. 2011. "Aging, Religion and Health." In Explorations in the Economics of Aging. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Deaton, A. 2012. "The Financial Crisis and the Well-Being of America." In Investigations in the Economics of Aging. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Deaton, A, and R Tortora. 2015. "People in Sub-Saharan Africa Rate Their Health and Health Care Among the Lowest in the World." Health Affairs 34 (3): 1-9.
Dr. Deaton has also contributed stories to Gallup.com, along with participating in interviews with our editors:
- How Uber Can Improve Americans' Outlook on Life, June 8, 2015
- What's So Bad About Income Inequality?, Nov. 6, 2013
- News Flash: Money Does Buy Happiness, April 10, 2008
- Rich World Aging More Contentedly Than Poor, March 4, 2008
- Worldwide, Residents of Richer Nations More Satisfied, Feb. 27, 2008
To learn more about Dr. Deaton, read his biography on Gallup.com.
