Claudia Goldin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Claudia Goldin
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Goldin in 2019
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| Born | May 14, 1946 The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
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| Thesis | The Economics of Urban Slavery: 1820 to 1860 (1972) |
| Doctoral advisor | Robert Fogel |
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Claudia Dale Goldin (born May 14, 1946) is an American economic historian and labor economist. This means she studies the history of money, jobs, and how people work. She is a professor of economics at Harvard University.
In October 2023, she won the famous Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. She received the award for her work that helped people understand women's experiences in the workplace. She was the third woman to ever win the prize and the first to win it all by herself.
Goldin is known for her research on women in the American economy. She has studied why women's pay has often been lower than men's. She also looked at how the ability to plan when to start a family changed women's career and marriage choices. Her work helps explain why things are the way they are for working women today.
In 1990, Goldin became the first woman to be given tenure (a permanent teaching position) in Harvard's economics department. This was a major achievement.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Education
Claudia Goldin was born in The Bronx, New York City, in 1946. When she was a kid, she first wanted to be an archaeologist and dig up ancient treasures. Later, after reading a book about scientists, she became interested in studying tiny living things like bacteria.
She even took a summer class in microbiology at Cornell University. She planned to study it in college. But during her second year at Cornell, she took an economics class. Her professor, Alfred E. Kahn, showed her how economics could be used like a detective tool to uncover hidden truths about the world. This inspired her to change her focus.
Goldin earned her bachelor's degree in economics from Cornell in 1967. She then went to the University of Chicago, where she earned a master's degree and a PhD in economics.
Career as a Professor
After finishing her education, Goldin began teaching economics at different universities. She taught at the University of Wisconsin, Princeton University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
In 1990, she joined the economics department at Harvard University. She made history by becoming the first woman to be offered a permanent professor position in that department.
Goldin has also been a leader in her field. She was the president of the American Economic Association and the Economic History Association. She is a member of many important science academies and has received several honorary degrees from universities around the world.
Important Research
Claudia Goldin's research has changed how we think about women, work, and the economy. She uncovered the main reasons for the differences between men and women in the job market.
Why is there a Gender Pay Gap?
One of the biggest questions Goldin has tried to answer is why women have historically been paid less than men. This is often called the gender pay gap.
In her 1990 book, Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women, she looked at the history of working women in the U.S. from the 1700s to the 1900s. She showed that the pay gap has existed for a very long time. It was shaped by society's rules, how jobs were structured, and laws.
The U-Shaped Curve of Women's Work
Goldin discovered a pattern in women's work history that looks like the letter "U".
- At the start: In an agricultural economy (based on farming), many women worked on farms alongside men.
- The dip: When the economy shifted to industry and factories, women's participation in the workforce went down. Many jobs were seen as "men's work," and married women were often expected to stay home.
- The rise: As the economy changed again, with more office and service jobs, and as women gained more access to education, they returned to the workforce in large numbers. This created the "U" shape.
The "Quiet Revolution"
Goldin also described something she called the "quiet revolution." This was a slow but powerful change in how women thought about their futures. In the past, young women often expected to work for a few years and then stop when they got married.
Starting in the 1960s and 1970s, this began to change. Young women started to plan for long-term careers. They began to invest more in their education, studying subjects like business, law, and medicine. Goldin found that a key reason for this shift was women's new ability to better plan when to have children. This gave them more control over their lives and allowed them to focus on building a career first.
Career and Family
In her 2021 book, Career and Family: Women's Century-Long Journey Toward Equity, Goldin explored the challenge that many women face: balancing a career and a family. She studied the lives of college-educated women for over 100 years.
She argues that the gender pay gap today is not just about discrimination. A big reason is that many high-paying jobs demand long, inflexible hours. This can be very difficult for parents who are the main caregivers for their children. Goldin suggests that making jobs more flexible would help close the pay gap.
Other Research
Goldin has studied many other topics in economic history.
- Education and Technology: In her book The Race Between Education and Technology, written with her husband Lawrence Katz, she argues that the U.S. became successful because it provided education to many of its citizens. They say that when the number of educated workers grows faster than technology creates a need for them, society becomes more equal. But since about 1980, education has not kept up, leading to greater inequality.
- History: She has also written about the economics of the American Civil War and slavery in the American South.
Personal Life
Goldin is married to Lawrence F. Katz, who is also an economics professor at Harvard. They have worked together on several research projects.
She has owned Golden Retrievers since 1970. Her dog Pika, who passed away in 2024, was a champion in scent-work competitions and also worked as a therapy dog, visiting people in a nursing home.
Awards
- 1991: Allan Sharlin Memorial Book Award from the Social Science History Association
- 2005: Carolyn Shaw Bell Award from the American Economic Association
- 2009: Jacob Mincer Award from the Society of Labor Economists
- 2016: IZA Prize in Labor Economics for her work on the economic history of women
- 2019: BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award for her work on the gender gap
- 2020: Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics
- 2023: Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
- 2023: Named one of the BBC's 100 Women
- 2024: Named one of Time magazine's Women of the Year
Selected Works
- Goldin, Claudia Dale. Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990, ISBN: 978-0-19-505077-6.
- Goldin, Claudia Dale and Lawrence F. Katz. The Race Between Education and Technology. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2008, ISBN: 978-0-674-02867-8.
- Goldin, Claudia. Career & Family: Women's Century-Long Journey toward Equity. Princeton, NJ. Princeton University Press, 2021. ISBN: 978-0-691-20178-8
Political Views
In June 2024, Goldin and 15 other Nobel Prize-winning economists signed a letter. The letter expressed concern that the economic plans of former President Donald Trump could harm the U.S. economy.
In 2025, Goldin also said she was worried that a new administration might misuse or remove important government data that economists rely on for their research.
See also
In Spanish: Claudia Goldin para niños
- List of Jewish Nobel laureates
