Randomistas Score Again

According to David Leonhardt of the New York Times, us randomistas are heads and tails above the competition in the popularity contest for coolest new idea. From the article:

...recently set out to conduct my second annual survey of economists... This year, ... I ... asked which economists were managing to do influential work on the crucial questions facing modern society.

Who, in other words, was using economics to make the world a better place?

I received dozens of diverse responses, but there was still a runaway winner. The small group of economists who work at the Jameel Poverty Action Lab at M.I.T., led by Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee, were mentioned far more often than anyone else.