Time for women (Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences 2023)

Abstract

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Claudia Goldin for her contribution to the study of women’s labor market outcomes. Goldin’s work establishes key historical facts regarding gender differences in the labor markets and provides insights into the driving forces of those gaps. Her methodology combines careful archival research, neoclassical microeconomic analysis, a cohort approach, and the use of natural experiments to identify causal relationships. This paper provides a survey of Goldin’s research on the relationship between economic development and the female labor supply, occupational segmentation, women’s educational attainment, discrimination, child penalty, and job flexibility. I also discuss how Goldin’s findings are relevant to understanding the gender gaps in Russia.