Daily News Analysis

The Feminisation of Economic Enquiry - Economics Nobel

14 Oct,2023 Download Pdf 7 Min Read

Why in News?

Professor Claudia Goldin became the 3^rd woman to be awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences which is commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize for Economics.

Highlights of her work:

Goldin demonstrated how and why gender differences in earnings and employment rates have changed over time, by analysing 200 years of the United States’ archives.
Significant observations from her work:
1. Female participation in the labour market exhibited a U-shaped curve rather than an upward trend over the entire period.
2. The economic growth occurring in varied periods did not translate to reducing gender differences in the labour market
3. several factors that are influencing the supply and demand for female labour include:
  1. Opportunities for combining paid work and a family
  2. Decisions (and expectations) related to pursuing education and raising children
  3. Technical innovations
  4. Laws and norms
  5. Structural transformation in an economy.
4. She highlighted that both men and women lose.
  1. “Men are able to have the family and step up because women step back in terms of their jobs, but both are deprived.”
  2. “Men forgo time with their family and women often forgo their career”.
Pay gap
Gender-blind recruitment
Role of the contraceptive pill in women’s career trajectories
Inequity within couples triggered by unequal care-giving
“Greedy jobs” that require high intensity and complete focus at an age when women must contend with their desire to nurture children.
Mention of “quiet revolutions” in the labour market of the US.
1. Four distinct phases were mentioned in the Quiet Revolution that transformed women’s Employment, Education and Family.
  1. Late-19th century till the late-1970s: Evolutionary phase where married women’s employment rates increased.
  2. Mid-1960s: Revolutionary phase where American women started working because they found a sense of worth and meaning from their careers rather than making additional money for families.
2. Three aspects of women’s choices grew over different phases:
  1. “Horizon”- while planning education the woman perceives that her lifetime labour force participation will be “long and continuous or intermittent and brief.
  2. “Identity” — whether woman derives a sense of personhood from her professional identity. (Shift from “jobs” to “career”).
  3. “Decision making”- women are fully autonomous in making their labour market choices.

Importance of feminism in economic growth of india

- Increasing female labor force participation - As attitudes towards working women have improved, India's female labor force participation rate has risen over time, though it remains lower than men's. More women working boosts incomes, productivity and GDP growth.

- Improving girls' education - Literacy rates for young women have risen substantially thanks to greater access to primary and secondary education. Educated women tend to be more productive at work, earn higher incomes, and invest more in their children's health and education.

- Promoting financial inclusion - Feminist efforts have expanded women's access to bank accounts, credit, and financial services. This enables more women to start businesses, make productivity-enhancing investments, and manage household expenses.

- Changing attitudes and norms - Activism around issues like domestic violence, inheritance rights, and women's autonomy helps shift patriarchal norms. As attitudes improve, women gain more decision-making power and economic opportunities.

- Increasing political participation - Having more women in state and national legislatures raises attention towards women-friendly policies. Things like paid maternity leave, childcare support, and protections against discrimination boost women's labor force participation.

- Spurring innovation - Indian women have made strides in areas like science, technology and business. Emerging female leaders and entrepreneurs create economic value through new innovations, products and services.

While India still has a long way to go, feminist movements have helped bring about important legal, social and economic changes enabling women to better contribute to the country's growth and development.