Hong Kong Jockey Club’s philanthropy forum brings together global thought leaders to discuss solutions for fairer societies

Abhijit Banerjee, co-founder and co-director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and 2019 Nobel laureate in economics, gave a keynote speech at the third 'Philanthropy for better cities forum', convened by The Hong Kong Jockey Club. The two-day conference brought more than 1,600 delegates and 70 global speakers together to advance socially impactful philanthropic strategies.

In his speech, Abhijit addressed the increasing global wealth disparity, saying: "Inequality has been going up. And it's not just going up - it's going up to historically unknown levels." He proposed a spectrum of poverty alleviation solutions including regular direct asset transfers supplemented with training programmes as a strategy to increase income, consumption and net worth. He also discussed direct provision of public services and improvements to governance practices that enhance individuals' knowledge of their rights. Abhijit reminded the forum's attendees that there is no single solution can be considered a panacea to poverty alleviation and stressed the importance of evidence-based solutions that support a particular group of people in specific conditions.