Nobel Prize in Economic Science 2023 

The final Nobel prize of the year, the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economic Science has been awarded to Economist Claudia Goldin, a Harvard University professor, for “having advanced our understanding of women’s labour market outcomes” on 9th October. 

The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was not part of Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will that mentioned the other prizes. This prize is based on a donation received by the Nobel Foundation in 1968 from Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, on the bank’s 300th anniversary.  

Goldin discussed the gender pay gap and the participation of women in the labour market over 200 years. Though her data is based on the economic history of the United States of America, her work is applicable to many other countries. She explained how different factors such as social norms, a woman’s responsibility for home and family, and marriage etc played important roles in gaining higher education and fruitful careers. 

Goldin became the third woman to receive this honour. In 2009, Elinor Ostrom got the award, while in 2019, Esther Duflo shared it with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer.