The 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics was on Monday awarded to economic historian Claudia Goldin for her work on the gender gap in the labour market.

The jury said that Goldin was being awarded the prize, officially called the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences, as her work provides the first comprehensive account of women’s earnings and labour market participation through the centuries. “Her research reveals the causes of change, as well as the main sources of the remaining gender gap,” the jury said.

“Historically, much of the gender gap in earnings could be explained by differences in education and occupational choices,” the jury said. “However, Goldin has shown that the bulk of this earnings difference is now between and women in the same occupation, and that it largely arises with the birth of the first child.”

Jakob Svensson, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences, said that Goldin’s work helps understand women’s role in the labour market. “Thanks to Claudia Goldin’s groundbreaking research, we now know much more about the underlying factors and which barriers may need to be addressed in the future,” Svensson said.

Goldin, a professor at Harvard University, was selected for the award by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. She will receive a prize amount of 11 million Swedish kronor, or about Rs 8.2 crore.

This was the final Nobel Prize to be announced this year. Nobel winners in physics, medicine, chemistry, literature and peace were announced between October 2 and October 6.

The prizes will be handed out to the winners on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.