Women winning: Claudia Goldin awarded by sveriges riksbank prize in economic sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel 2023

Abstract

The article highlights the main autobiographical events and scientific contribution of the American economic historian, Harvard University professor Claudia Goldin. This year, she was awarded the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for significant scientific achievements in explaining essential causes of gender differences in the labor market. For the first time, the laureate has provided comprehensive evidence of changes in women’s wages and their participation in the US labor market over two centuries, which had previously been largely unknown. Using historical and economic analysis, C. Goldin showed that despite technological development, economic growth and an increase in the share of employed women in the 20th century, the income gap between women and men almost did not disappear over a long period. However, women’s educational attainment has steadily increased, and in most high-income countries, it is now significantly higher compared with men. In her research, she demonstrated that, in addition to education, women’s access to contraceptives played a crucial role in accelerating revolutionary changes that provided new opportunities for career, marriage, and family planning. C. Goldin explained that most of the gender gap in income before the 1980s was caused by differences in education and career choices between women and men. Exceptionally, the situation changed when women got married and did not return to the labor market. Therefore, in her research on gender pay inequality, C. Goldin focused on analyzing the behavior of married women and changes in their incomes during marriage. Thus, the researcher proved that income inequality in married couples (woman and man) still exists, even if they both have high-paying jobs or are engaged in the same profession. This difference in income occurs mainly with the birth of the first child.