Gender pay gap professor wins Nobel economics prize

Save articles for later

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

Stockholm: The Nobel economics prize was awarded on Monday to Claudia Goldin, a professor at Harvard University, for advancing the understanding of women’s labour market outcomes.

Goldin is only the third woman to win the prize, which was announced by Hans Ellegren, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in Stockholm.

Claudia Golden has won the Nobel Prize in economics.Credit: AP

“Understanding women’s role in the labour market is important for society. Thanks to Claudia Goldin’s groundbreaking research, we now know much more about the underlying factors and which barriers may need to be addressed in the future,” said Jakob Svensson, chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences.

Goldin, 77, “was surprised and very, very glad,” Ellegren said on being told of her win.

“Claudia Golden’s discoveries have vast societal implications,” said Randi Hjalmarsson, a member of the prize committee. “By finally understanding the problem and calling it by the right name, we will be able to pave a better out forward.”

It follows the awards in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace that were announced last week.

The economics award was created in 1968 by Sweden’s central bank and is formally known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel.

Last year’s winners were former Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip Dybvig for their research into bank failures that helped shape America’s aggressive response to the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

The prizes are handed out at awards ceremonies in December in Oslo and Stockholm. They carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor (about $A1.t million). Winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and diploma.

AP

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.

Most Viewed in World

Source: Read Full Article