Princeton University economist Angus Deaton received this year’s Nobel Prize in Economics because his work elevates the understanding of individual and household consumption and is key to devising policies aimed at boosting economic growth and reducing poverty, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which gives out the award, said in a press release.

Deaton’s vast body of research spans topics from the inequality within and between countries to the intersection of poverty and health, and also includes reviews of household poverty surveys. Here’s University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers, writing in The New York Times Upshot blog, on why Deaton deserved to win: "More than any other economist I know, he understands that to get the big picture right, you’ve got to get all the small details right, too."

In its quest for the small details, Deaton’s work has often encountered a stumbling block in the form of rich, gated communities. His research in the 2000s, for instance, reviewed how poverty and consumption were measured around the world and found that people living in these communities often refused to participate in data-gathering surveys. Without data on gated income and consumption patterns, economists may not get an accurate sense of overall economic growth and the extent of inequality.