Nobel Prize for Economics goes to Harvard professor Claudia Goldin
Goldin showed female participation in the labour market did not have an upward trend over a 200 year period, but instead formed a U-shaped curve
The Nobel Economics Prize has been awarded to Claudia Goldin, a professor at Harvard University, “for having advanced our understanding of women's labour market outcomes.”
Hans Ellegren, Secretary-General, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announced the award Monday in Stockholm. Goldin is only the third woman to win the prize.
The Nobel Prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million). Winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and diploma at the award ceremonies in December in Oslo and Stockholm.
"This year’s economic sciences laureate Claudia Goldin showed that female participation in the labour market did not have an upward trend over a 200 year period, but instead forms a U-shaped curve," said the Academy.
"The participation of married women decreased with the transition from an agrarian to an industrial society in the early nineteenth century, but then started to increase with the growth of the service sector in the early twentieth century. Goldin explained this pattern as the result of structural change and evolving social norms regarding women’s responsibilities for home and family."