02/01/2024

Gender and Economics: Dr. Claudia Goldin's 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics


Here is the link to the video introduction on my channel.

Good day, I am Albert Schram and I hold a doctorate in Economic History from the European University Institute. 

Today, we will be discussing this year's Nobel Prize in Economics winner, Dr. Claudia Goldin, and analyzing her groundbreaking contributions to the field of economic history. As a bit of background, I grew up in the Netherlands where my father worked as a physicist at Utrecht University. Through his connections, I was frequently exposed to Nobel laureates from a young age, many of whom did not encourage my interest in exploring economic history or the intersections between the economic sciences and humanities. One physicist in particular always liked to jokingly say “You know, there is even a Nobel prize in economics”. Leaving the issue of whether economics is a science aside, let’s dive into Goldin’s revolutionary research, and what it reveals about the ongoing development of economics as an intellectual pursuit.



Dr. Claudia Goldin of Harvard University was awarded the 2022 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for her work advancing our understanding of women's labor market outcomes over the past century. She becomes only the third female economist to win the prize, following Elinor Ostrom in 2009 and Esther Duflo in 2019. Lesser known predecessors who conducted pioneering studies on related topics in the 1990s include Carla Eugenia Nuñez for Spain, and Vera Zamagni for Italy. Goldin’s prize is especially impactful given the field of economics remains particularly male-dominated, with less than 25% of tenured professors globally identifying as women compared to over 40% across academia overall. Even textbook examples have historically strongly favored featuring men's names and scenarios over women's.



Goldin’s body of research spans decades and analyzes women's changing employment patterns from multifaceted angles, and connects this analysis with insights from labor and education economics. A consistent theme throughout her work has been scrutinizing the complex causes behind persistent wage gaps between male and female workers. In the 20th century, as women rapidly outpaced men in educational attainment levels, earnings disparities stubbornly remained. By examining employment trends through different economic eras defined by agricultural, industrial, and service sector shifts, Goldin discovered women's participation followed a recurring U-shaped pattern influenced heavily by prevailing technological innovations and societal norms.


The details and implications of Goldin’s famous U-shape graph are truly fascinating. During America's agrarian past, high fertility rates and family farm labor needs meant married women's economic participation stayed relatively high. However, as factories dominated the late 1800s, rigid ideologies of separate gender roles took hold, and wives were incentivized to withdraw from the paid labor force once married or after bearing children. This low point extended into the early 1900s as well. Things began changing rapidly starting in the 1970s, which Goldin identified as a revolutionary period. Women started postponing marriage, prioritizing higher education, and leveraging new opportunities made possible by the widespread availability of reliable birth control like the Pill. Their workforce participation responded positively as a result.


By unpacking these dynamic, long-term cultural shifts, Goldin demonstrated how the structure and composition of modern families have substantively redefined women's relationship with the labor market. However, she also acknowledged progress towards equality has been uneven and nonlinear. Today, American and European women still only earn 60-80 cents for every dollar earned by men in similar roles. Much of the residual gap stems from steep “motherhood penalties” faced after a woman's first child is born. Goldin’s work laid the foundation for new policies aiming to support female labor participation at all career stages while also advocating innovative workplace arrangements flexible enough to accommodate child-rearing responsibilities. Her research illustrates the magnitude of societal transformation still needed. She is hopeful about the future of work, pointing out that online working has introduced some flexibility into labour markets that can favour women.

[Dr. Goldin’s colleagues praise her trailblazing efforts to establish economic history as a respected field of quantitative study. By incorporating insights from demography, sociology, and other social science lenses, she helped enrich mainstream economic modeling beyond its initial limitations and assumptions of a gender-neutral labor force. Goldin has also been a hugely influential role model and mentor for younger female scholars pursuing related topics. Although some have critiqued her work for potentially overlooking the risks of certain “gender equity” policies, her preeminent career achievements and enduring contributions to shaping public debates around these complex issues are undeniable. Goldin continues academically producing at a high level well into her 70s, inspiring new generations to think creatively and rigorously about optimizing economic opportunities for all.]


In sum, this year's Nobel Prize affirms that data-driven economic history maintains vital relevance for addressing real-world problems today. The field has recognized its initial models fell short by excluding societal, psychological, and institutional factors disproportionately affecting specific demographic groups. As a response, leading researchers like Dr. Goldin broadened analysis to incorporate multi-disciplinary lenses examining everything from norms and stigma to the power of unanticipated innovations in shaping market forces. 

Her work exemplifies economics' evolution away from rigid assumptions of purely rational actors towards appreciating humanity's complex, evolving nature. Perhaps most importantly, Goldin leaves a legacy of empowering more diverse voices that will undoubtedly strengthen economics as an academic pursuit dedicated to creating inclusive prosperity for all.

Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration of this overview. I hope it provided valuable insights into both the groundbreaking scholarship of Dr. Claudia Goldin and larger developments currently reshaping economics as a discipline. Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions!


Work cited:
  1. Núñez, Clara Eugenia. (1992) in: Boyd, C. P. La fuente de la riqueza: Educatión y desarrollo económico en la España contemporánea. Madrid: Alianza Universidad. 1992. Pp. 355. Am. Hist. Rev., 98(5), 1621–1621. doi: 10.1086/ahr/98.5.1621
  2. Dolar, Veronica (10 October 2023). Claudia Goldin’s Nobel Prize win is a victory for women in economics − and the field as a whole. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/claudia-goldins-nobel-prize-win-is-a-victory-for-women-in-economics-and-the-field-as-a-whole-215330
  3. The Economist (9 October 2023). Claudia Goldin wins the Nobel prize in economics. Economist. Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/10/09/claudia-goldin-wins-the-nobel-prize-in-economics
  4. Goldin, Claudia (2023) The Nobel Lecture Prize  2023 prize lecture in economic sciences | Claudia Goldin. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBkLI5i-OC8
  5. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2023. (2023, December 31). Retrieved from https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2023/press-release
  6. Zamagni, V. (2017). An Economic History of Europe Since 1700. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.it/Economic
    -History-Europe-Since-1700/dp/19111163989


(Prepared for a short video, 1,000 characters per slide)

07/10/2023

Beyond Elitism: My Contributions to Establishing True Universities in Papua New Guinea

“Nations fail because their extractive economic institutions do not create the incentives needed for people to save, invest, and innovate. Extractive political (and educational AS) institutions support these economic institutions by cementing the power of those who benefit from the extraction.”

― Daron Acemoğlu, quote from Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty.”

Introduction

In February 2012, I,  took on the role of Vice Chancellor at Papua New Guinea University of Technology (PNGUOT), with the goal of transforming it into a true university that serves its students and produces competent and employable graduates. In this role, I was also Council member of the University of Papua New Guinea, and I became Vice-Chair of the National Rectors' conference in 2016. 

Although I had already worked 12 years in Central America, when these societies were recovering from decades of civil war, and I had read up in anthropology about Papua New Guinea, the reality of operating in such a violent environment ridden with crime and corruption was entirely new to me. Professionally, the challenges were less since I had already worked 5 years as Academic Director and Director of Development at leading universities in the Netherlands. However, nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to face.

With bonnet, and Maastricht University tie


My 6 years as Vice Chancellor, spread over two tenures, can be divided into three key phases: taking over the "worst university in the world" from 2012-2013, a period of exile and preparation from 2013-2014, and implementing reforms from 2014-2018.

06/10/2023

How the University of Pennsylvania's Culture Failed Katalin Karikó and mRNA Research

Background

Katalin Karikó is a Hungarian-born biochemist who is widely recognized as one of the pioneers of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which has revolutionized the field of vaccine development and led to the creation of the highly effective COVID-19 vaccines by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna. ¹²³ This year she received the Nobel Prize for medical physiology for her work.

However, before she achieved this remarkable feat, she faced decades of rejection, frustration, and demotion at the University of Pennsylvania, where she worked as a researcher from 1989 to 2013. ⁴⁵

In this blog post, I will explore how the university culture at Penn failed to appreciate and nurture Karikó's talent and vision, and how this reflects on the challenges and limitations of academic research in general.

06/08/2023

How I wish to measure my life and career

Introduction

One distinguishing feature of my career, it that I have lived and worked in many different countries, something I always chose to do out of my own initiative. In fact, two thirds of my working life I spent in the Global South. I lived in some of the poorest countries in the world, some ravaged by civil strife, where child mortality is high and life expectancy short. In some of these countries, polio, cholera and leprosy are still common. Sadly, in Papua New Guinea for example, even tribal warfare and witch burning are still regular occurrences and widely reported in the newspapers. In a few weeks, I will be starting a new professional challenge in a neighboring European country, a few hours' drive away. For me a minor transition.

Lecturing about research support at universities in 2010 in Turkey

Friends and family often ask me why I am moving again. The short answer is that I always seek decent, meaningful work and respectful employers so that I can contribute to my community and society at large. However, the longer answer is more complex. Looking back, the main reasons for moving about can be partly attributed to "Fortuna" or fate, partly my decisions to leave when prospects seemed dim, and partly due to my value-based choice for meaningful work and making a difference in the world.

25/04/2023

Tackling the Global Education Crisis: how combining a modern pedagogical approach with today's learning technologies can boost the quality of education

For concrete examples of how to use AI apps in writing, see my low-priced e-products such as mini-guides, Notion or ClickUp templates in my Gumroad shop.

Addressing the Global Crisis in Education

During the past two centuries, most countries have successfully established primary and secondary school systems and made education compulsory for a number of years. However, the emphasis has primarily been on access and enrollment, and many children who attend school are not actually learning. Shockingly, over 600 million children and adolescents worldwide are unable to reach the minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics, despite two-thirds of them attending school according to UNICEF.

18/09/2022

The use of video for teaching and learning


METHOD OR MEDIA: 

10 Do’s and some Don’ts for using media in online post-secondary education


Albert Schram, Ph.D.
University of Maryland Global Campus (Adelphi MD USA – Vicenza Italy) 

Paper prepared for the European Distance Education Network (EDEN) virtual annual conference, 
Madrid  21-24 June 2021. 


Abstract
For effective online teaching and learning there is no short-cut for good instructional design, as well as following well-established pedagogical practices. For universities today, the main challenges for delivering quality online programs are, first, to provide good access through high quality digital infrastructure, and, secondly, to assure that all lecturers are trained in modern pedagogical approaches, basic instructional design principles for online teaching, and media usage. 

17/04/2022

Necrologia Laura Pighi (22 agosto 1930 - 13 aprile 2022)

La mattina del 13 aprile 2022, la Professoressa Laura Pighi Schram è morta a Negrar vicino a Verona (Italia), dove ha risieduto per quasi 35 anni. Nasce il 22 agosto 1930 a Milano da famiglia veneta. Per coincidenza, morì lo stesso giorno di San Zeno nell'anno 371 DC, l'amato Patrono di Verona, originario dell'Africa. Era la vedova di Kees Schram, morto il 27 gennaio 2017. Le sopravvivono i suoi figli Marco Schram e Albert Schram e le loro famiglie.

Laura Pighi col marito Kees Schram

In Olanda è nota come coautrice del dizionario Prisma italiano-olandese, che quasi tutti gli studenti di lingua italiana nel paese hanno utilizzato. Durante la sua vita ha pubblicato oltre 100 titoli in italiano, con le sue ultime pubblicazioni all'età di 90 anni. Gli ultimi una mezza dozzina di libri sono ancora in vendita in Italia da Liberia Feltrinelli vedi https://bit.ly/pighilaura e su Amazon.it.