From Bench to Bedside: Pascaline Dupas is Reshaping Government Policies to Reduce Global Poverty

From providing free insecticide-treated bed nets to creating access to safe drinking water, Pascaline Dupas has long had a singular mission: to identify practical, evidence-based solutions to critical health problems in low-income countries. 

The internationally recognized development economist joined the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs in 2023 as a professor of economics and public affairs. In addition to her teaching duties, she also directs the Center for Health and Wellbeing, which strives to understand the determinants of health and wellbeing and the role that public policy plays in shaping the quality of people’s lives — something Dupas has been focused on since the early 2000s.

“My master’s studies focused on health challenges using data from Indonesia, which was a much poorer country than it is now,” Dupas said. “I was interested in understanding the relationship between health and poverty — whether the disease burden could trap people in poverty.”

Her graduate work revealed the frequency of day-to-day disruptors people were facing that, ultimately, negatively impacted quality of life and overall health.

“If you’re sick, you can’t show up to work, so you don’t make any money that day because there’s no such thing as sick leave,” Dupas said. “The numbers were striking, with data revealing very poor health outcomes, such as stunting among children and widespread anemia among adults.”

Those stark statistics made a lasting impression on Dupas.

“It’s kind of hard to not be affected by that when you see the numbers,” she said. “For some, they see images, and that’s what moves them. I guess for me, I’m moved by the statistics.”

Fieldwork in rural Kenya as a research assistant to Michael Kremer, a renowned leader in development economics, led to some of Dupas’ most impactful work, which focused on implementing a cost-effective approach to get free insecticide-treated bed nets to pregnant women and their children.

She put to the test the collective, preconceived notion that giving away free bed nets would not lead to increased use. Through randomized controlled trials, her research not only debunked that belief but also led to reshaped government policies in African countries and provided guidance to the World Health Organization, NGOs, and global health practitioners. Ultimately, Dupas’ fieldwork laid the groundwork for subsequent randomized trials that have led to addressing social determinants of health through the cost-effective distribution of essential health products — such as water treatment solution and antimalarial medicines — in multiple countries.

Over a 15-year period, starting in 2008, Dupas and collaborators studied the effects of subsidizing secondary education in Ghana, exploring its impacts not only on educational attainment for young women but also on their reproductive health and health of their children. Early results informed the government of Ghana’s decision to make secondary education free for all in 2017. Now, she’s planning similar work with the government of Cameroon.

“My approach to research is quite simple: Let’s do research that addresses an important question to which governments, nonprofits or communities need the answer as they try to solve a pressing problem,” Dupas said.

Dupas’ work has earned international accolades. Most recently, she was named to Vox’s 2025 Future Perfect 25, recognized as one of their “6 big thinkers reshaping foreign aid, masculinity, and development.”

For Dupas, it’s never been about chasing accolades. It’s about conducting practical, bench-to-bedside research that others can’t do.

“We can do the type of multi-year research that governments and practitioners need done, but that they don’t have the timeframe to do,” she said. “It’s one of the luxuries we have as academics, as we are not tied to day-to-day decision-making like someone who is in a cabinet office, for instance. That’s the value we bring.”

Dupas also acknowledges the important role institutions play — and Princeton SPIA, in particular — when it comes to equipping and empowering its researchers.

“Shout out to SPIA,” Dupas said. “I’m very grateful that they make it possible for me to have the resources to invest in relationships with governments, dedicate my time, and work with our talented students, giving them opportunities to work with me in the field.”

Photo by Melissa Kelly Photography.