(Stockholm) The Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded on Monday to American Claudia Goldin, professor at Harvard University, for having advanced our understanding of the situation of women in the labor market.
Goldin is only the third woman to receive the honor, announced by the Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Hans Ellegren, in Stockholm.
“Understanding the role of women in the workforce is important for society. Thanks to Claudia Goldin’s groundbreaking research, we now know much more about the underlying factors and the obstacles that may need to be overcome in the future,” emphasized the Chairman of the Economic Sciences Prize Committee, Jakob Svensson.
Ms. Goldin, who is 77, was surprised and “very, very happy” when she was told she was the winner of the prestigious award, Mr. Ellegren said.
“Claudia Golden’s discoveries have broad societal implications,” added Randi Hjalmarsson, who is also a member of the prize committee.
“By finally understanding the problem and giving it the right name, we will be able to open up better opportunities. »
The Nobel Prize in Economics was established in 1968 by the central bank of Sweden and is officially known as the Swedish Bank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
Last year’s honorees included former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip Dybvig for their research on bank failures that helped shape the aggressive U.S. response to the financial crisis from 2007 and 2008.
The announcement of the winner of the economic prize concludes the Nobel Prize season, which began last week.
A week ago, the American of Hungarian origin Katalin Karikó and the American Drew Weissman won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. The physics prize was awarded on Tuesday to the Franco-Swedish physicist Anne L’Huillier, the French scientist Pierre Agostini and the Hungarian Ferenc Krausz.
American scientists Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov won the chemistry prize on Wednesday. They were followed by Norwegian writer Jon Fosse, who received the literature prize on Thursday. And on Friday, Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi won the peace prize.
The winners will receive their awards at two ceremonies in Oslo and Stockholm in December. They will be given a cash reward of 11 million Swedish crowns (approximately 1.4 million CAD).
Winners also receive an 18-karat gold medal and an honorary certificate.