An American economics professor at Harvard University, Claudia Goldin, on Monday was unveiled as the recipient of this year's Nobel Prize in Economics for her work on understanding women's labour markets.
Hans Ellegren, the secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announced the award.
"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.
BREAKING NEWS
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 9, 2023
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2023 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to Claudia Goldin “for having advanced our understanding of women’s labour market outcomes.”#NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/FRAayC3Jwb
The Nobel committee in a post honouring her work said she trawled through the archives and compiled and corrected historical data to present new and often surprising facts.
"She has also given us a deeper understanding of the factors that affect women’s opportunities in the labour market and how much their work has been in demand. The fact that women’s choices have often been, and remain, limited by marriage and responsibility for the home and family is at the heart of her analyses and explanatory models. Goldin’s studies have also taught us that change takes time, because choices that affect entire careers are based on expectations that may later prove to be false. Her insights reach far outside the borders of the US and similar patterns have been observed in many other countries. Her research brings us a better understanding of the labour markets of yesterday, today and tomorrow."
By trawling through the archives and compiling and correcting historical data, this year’s economic sciences laureate Claudia Goldin has been able to present new and often surprising facts. She has also given us a deeper understanding of the factors that affect women’s… pic.twitter.com/uxd4Q188KG
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 9, 2023
She is the second female economics Nobel Laureate since the Economics Prize was set up by the Bank of Sweden in 1968 in honour of Alfred Nobel, who started the Nobel Prize.
The award will be physically handed out at a December ceremony in Oslo, Norway and Stockholm, Sweden.
This year's list of Nobel prize winners includes Hungarian-American Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman, who won the Nobel Prize in medicine.
The Nobel prize in physics went to French-Swedish physicist Anne L'Huillier, French scientist Pierre Agostini and Hungarian-born Ferenc Krausz.
American scientists Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov won the Nobel prize for chemistry.
Norwegian writer Jon Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature.
Jailed Iranian women's rights activist, Narges Mohammadi won the coveted Nobel Peace Prize for her long struggle.