She Becomes the 3rd Woman to Win Economics Nobel

The Nobel economics prize has been awarded to Claudia Goldin, a professor at Harvard University, for what Nobel officials described as "groundbreaking research" in her work on women in the labor market. Goldin is only the third woman to win the prize, which was announced by Hans Ellegren, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in Stockholm, per the AP. "Understanding women's role in the labor market is important for society," said Jakob Svensson, chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences. "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."

Goldin, 77, "was surprised and very, very glad," Ellegren said of her reaction to receiving the award. "Claudia Goldin's discoveries have vast societal implications," said Randi Hjalmarsson, a member of the prize committee. "By finally understanding the problem and calling it by the right name, we will be able to pave a better (way) forward." Goldin's research has "provided the first comprehensive account of women's earnings and labor market outcomes through the centuries," per CNBC, citing the Nobel committee. "Her research reveals new patterns, identifies causes of change but also speaks to the main sources of the remaining gender gaps," per the committee.

Only two of the previous 92 economics laureates honored were women. The economics award was created in 1968 by Sweden's central bank and is formally known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Last year's winners were former Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond, and Philip Dybvig for their research into bank failures that helped shape America's aggressive response to the 2007-2008 financial crisis. (More Nobel Prize in Economics stories.)