“VU Experts Help Understand”: the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences Awarded to Prof. C. Goldin for Her Research on Women’s Labour Market Outcomes

On 9 October, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences concluded this year’s award announcements with the Nobel Prize in Economics. The 2023 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences was granted to Claudia Goldin, Professor of Economics at Harvard University, United States, for having advanced our understanding of women’s labour market outcomes. According to Assoc. Prof. Dr Arūnas Burinskas, Head of the Department of Economic Policy at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Vilnius University (VU), Prof. Goldin’s contribution to historical research on women’s role in the US economy is immense, covering a vast array of different subjects.

Research on today’s issues through the lens of the past

‘Prof. Goldin’s research focuses on economic history and labour economics, including a broad range of topics, such as slavery, emancipation, the postbellum South, women in the economy, the economic impact of war, immigration, New Deal policies, inequality, technological change, and education,’ says Assoc. Prof. Dr Burinskas.

In most of her studies, this year’s Economics Nobel laureate interprets the present economic phenomena and potential drivers of current economic realities through the lens of the past. Her recent work has focused on the rise of female graduation rates as well as on the career and family outcomes of college-graduate women.

‘Prof. Goldin is best known for her historical research on women in the US economy. Her recent articles in this field focus on how generations of women have responded to the problem of balancing career and family, their access to higher education, the impact of contraceptive pills on their career and marriage decisions, women’s surnames after marriage as a social indicator, as well as the reasons why women are currently the majority of those receiving a bachelor’s degree in the US,’ explains the economic scientist.

The VU economist also notes that Prof. Goldin has recently launched a major project to study the changes in the family and career patterns of male and female graduates of selected universities.

Extensive field of research and activity

‘Having obtained her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a PhD from the University of Chicago, Claudia Goldin is now Professor of Economics at Harvard University and a co-director of the Working Group on Gender in the Economy at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). From 1989 to 2017, she was the Director of the NBER Program on the Development of the American Economy,’ says Assoc. Dr Burinskas.

He also mentions that Prof. Goldin is the author, co-author, and editor of several influential books, including ‘Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women’ (1990), ‘The Regulated Economy: A Historical Approach to Political Economy’ (1994), ‘The Defining Moment: The Great Depression and the American Economy in the Twentieth Century’ (1998), and ‘Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America’s Economic History’ (2006).
The book ‘The Race between Education and Technology’ (2008), co-authored with her colleague Prof. Lawrence F. Katz, won the 2008 R. R. Hawkins Award for the most outstanding scholarly work in all disciplines of the arts and sciences. Prof. Goldin’s most recent book is ‘Career & Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey toward Equity’ (2021).

In 2007, the Professor was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. She is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Society of Labor Economists (SOLE), and the Econometric Society. In 2009, the SOLE awarded her the Mincer Prize for lifetime contributions to the field of labour economics. Prof. Goldin also served as the President of the American Economic Association in 1991 and of the Economic History Association up until 2000. Between 1984 and 1988, she was editor of ‘The Journal of Economic History’ and is currently an associate editor of ‘The Quarterly Journal of Economics’.

The American economist became the third woman to receive this prestigious award. The Nobel Prizes will be granted at award ceremonies to be held in Oslo and Stockholm in December. The winners will receive a monetary reward of 11 million Swedish kronor (around USD 1 million).