The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Claudia Goldin, a Harvard professor, for advancing the world’s understanding of women’s progress in the work force.
The 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics has been presented to Harvard University Professor Claudia Goldin. Her research, which centers on inequality and women’s workforce participation, played a pivotal role in her receiving this year’s prestigious award.
The Nobel Committee acknowledged Goldin’s groundbreaking work, which delves into the relationship between women’s earnings and the labor market, highlighting that she conducted the first comprehensive study that spans centuries on this subject. Goldin’s research not only elucidates the origins of wage inequality but also provides insights into the factors driving changes in this inequality.
The committee commended Goldin for her meticulous examination of over 200 years of American archives. Committee member Randi Hjalmarsson described Goldin as a “detective” who delved into a subject many had avoided, thinking there was a lack of data.
Goldin’s 1999 book is considered a significant contribution to comprehending the issue of wage inequality for women. Following her studies on the impact of birth control pills on women’s careers and marital decisions, she also explored the utilization of surnames by women after marriage as a social factor.
Third woman to receive the award
The committee noted that in the past, gender pay gaps were attributed to differences in education and professions. However, Goldin’s research demonstrates that inequality exists among men and women working in the same roles, with disparities becoming more pronounced for women after giving birth to their first child.
In a 15-year study of business school students at the University of Chicago, for instance, Goldin and her colleagues found in one paper that the gap in pay started to widen a year or two after a woman had her first baby.
Dr. Goldin said in an interview that she hoped people would take away from her work how important long-term changes are to understanding the labor market.
“We see a residue of history around us,” she said, explaining that societal and family structures that women and men grow up in shape their behavior and economic outcomes.
“We’re never going to have gender equality until we also have couple equity,” she said. While there has been “monumental progressive change, at the same time there are important differences” which often tie back to women doing more work in the home.
An important mentor to many women
Claudia Olivetti of Dartmouth, a co-author of Dr. Goldin’s, said that Dr. Goldin’s work has “shaped much of the current research on women and labor markets.” She pointed out that it continues to today: Dr. Goldin has just released a new working paper on why women made such great advances in the 1970s, and why that progress has hit roadblocks in the years since.
Dr. Goldin has also been an important mentor to many women entering the field of economics, she said.
Leah Boustan, a professor at Princeton and once a student of Dr. Goldin’s, said that her work has had a “profound” influence on labor economics.
“The first thing I thought about when Claudia won is how much her research is still inspiring current work,” she said, explaining that her students today are still digging into how marriage, contraception and labor market decisions have interacted over time.
“There are so many threads that we as labor economists and economic historians can follow from Claudia’s work,” she said.
Kaynak: New York Times, DW Türkçe, BBC Türkçe