0:00:00.301,0:00:05.868 When you do economic research,[br]you have three pieces. 0:00:05.868,0:00:07.568 I think of them as balls 0:00:07.568,0:00:10.919 that I want floating up[br]all the time. 0:00:10.919,0:00:12.284 I'm juggling them, 0:00:12.284,0:00:16.070 and one of them is the idea. 0:00:16.070,0:00:17.867 I have to begin with[br]"What's the question, 0:00:17.867,0:00:19.568 what's important?" 0:00:19.568,0:00:22.501 - [Narrator] Economists! 0:00:22.501,0:00:26.153 Not a group with a lot[br]of Marys, Natashas, or Juanitas, 0:00:26.153,0:00:28.902 and that's caused[br]a lot of controversy. 0:00:28.902,0:00:32.768 However, what's often overlooked[br]are the actual female economists 0:00:32.768,0:00:37.101 who are economics forward[br]by addressing real world issues. 0:00:37.101,0:00:40.569 Welcome to Women in Economics. 0:00:45.269,0:00:47.118 - [Ilyana] One thing I definitely[br]learned from Claudia 0:00:47.118,0:00:50.170 is to approach economic[br]research like a detective. 0:00:50.170,0:00:51.384 I think, especially, 0:00:51.384,0:00:52.786 when you're working[br]with economic history, 0:00:52.786,0:00:56.135 when you can't just download[br]a cleaned-up dataset. 0:00:56.135,0:00:59.737 You really have to go searching[br]open, dusty boxes 0:00:59.737,0:01:02.652 and look under tocks. 0:01:02.652,0:01:07.435 - [Lawrence] She is the consummate,[br]economic historian. 0:01:07.435,0:01:09.886 She has been[br]the innovator and pioneer 0:01:09.886,0:01:13.436 on bringing economical logic[br]and historical and better data 0:01:13.436,0:01:17.101 to understanding[br]women's role in the economy, 0:01:17.101,0:01:20.136 and then she is a fantastic[br]labor economist, 0:01:20.136,0:01:26.286 who had been a leader on work[br]on understanding inequality. 0:01:26.736,0:01:31.404 Claudia Dale Goldin was born[br]in 1946 in the Bronx. 0:01:31.404,0:01:34.754 She was a problem-solver[br]from the beginning. 0:01:34.754,0:01:37.119 As a child, she avoided[br]the New York City heat 0:01:37.119,0:01:39.469 by spending[br]her summer days playing cards 0:01:39.469,0:01:42.803 or reading in air-conditioned[br]department stores. 0:01:42.803,0:01:44.020 And while she always knew 0:01:44.020,0:01:46.953 she wanted to be[br]a scientist of some kind, 0:01:46.953,0:01:50.737 she wasn't always set on economics. 0:01:50.737,0:01:52.185 She'll tell stories to me 0:01:52.185,0:01:55.118 about when she first went[br]to the Natural History Museum 0:01:55.118,0:01:56.620 when she was living in the Bronx 0:01:56.620,0:01:58.786 and fell in love with mummies 0:01:59.388,0:02:02.818 and thought that archeology[br]was going to be her passion. 0:02:02.818,0:02:04.787 But then she discovered[br]microbiology, 0:02:04.787,0:02:07.386 and she suddenly realized[br]that microscopes uncovered 0:02:07.386,0:02:10.553 a whole new world[br]of discovery for her. 0:02:10.553,0:02:13.970 It wasn't until she actually went[br]to college at Cornell 0:02:13.970,0:02:16.985 that she first got introduced[br]to economics. 0:02:16.985,0:02:19.269 I decided to become an economist 0:02:19.269,0:02:21.903 because I took an economics class 0:02:21.903,0:02:25.304 from an amazing person[br]named Fred Kahn. 0:02:25.304,0:02:30.520 He was so excited about the field[br]of industrial organization 0:02:30.520,0:02:33.669 and product markets and regulation 0:02:33.669,0:02:36.254 that it was infectious. 0:02:36.254,0:02:39.321 And in fact, when I went[br]to graduate school 0:02:39.321,0:02:40.654 at the University of Chicago, 0:02:40.654,0:02:44.753 I went there to study[br]Industrial Organization. 0:02:46.120,0:02:48.436 Under the mentorship of Bob Fogel, 0:02:48.436,0:02:51.470 Claudia studied[br]American Economic History, 0:02:51.470,0:02:56.153 particularly the economics of slavery[br]and the post civil war south. 0:02:56.153,0:02:58.154 She had to travel[br]to some southern states 0:02:58.154,0:03:01.201 to gather archival materials[br]for this research. 0:03:01.201,0:03:05.053 Goldin didn't approach this trip[br]like a traditional economist. 0:03:05.053,0:03:06.837 She thought what I should do 0:03:06.837,0:03:10.135 is hitchhike between[br]the different cities in the south. 0:03:10.135,0:03:12.287 She met somebody[br]in one of the archives 0:03:12.287,0:03:13.869 who let her stay at their place, 0:03:13.869,0:03:15.171 and when she came back, 0:03:15.171,0:03:18.688 her advisor asked her for a list[br]of the receipts and expenses 0:03:18.688,0:03:19.969 associated with the trip, 0:03:19.969,0:03:24.387 she had no clue that you were[br]supposed to actually stay in hotels 0:03:24.387,0:03:26.087 and pay for actual travel, 0:03:26.087,0:03:28.103 and you could get reimbursements. 0:03:28.103,0:03:31.639 By actually staying[br]with the archivists 0:03:31.639,0:03:33.655 and getting access to archives 0:03:33.655,0:03:33.905 and knowledge that[br]you wouldn't have had, 0:03:33.905,0:03:38.019 it probably created [ ][br]and understanding 0:03:38.019,0:03:39.421 that wouldn't have been possible 0:03:39.421,0:03:42.671 if you were going through[br]usual channels. 0:03:42.671,0:03:45.620 - (Narrator ) She continued[br]to focus on economic history, 0:03:45.620,0:03:47.053 exploring such questions 0:03:47.053,0:03:50.921 as why the north and south[br]had different economic outcomes 0:03:50.921,0:03:53.388 after the Civil War. 0:03:53.388,0:03:56.970 Then I remember thinking[br]that there were interesting aspects 0:03:56.970,0:04:01.289 in terms of child labor[br]and families. 0:04:01.289,0:04:06.170 It suddenly occurred to me[br]the main changes in the labor force 0:04:06.170,0:04:08.954 had to do with women. 0:04:09.886,0:04:10.953 - [Narrator] She realized 0:04:10.953,0:04:12.886 that there was[br]a huge story in US history 0:04:12.886,0:04:15.521 that was missing[br]from economist scrutiny. 0:04:15.521,0:04:21.571 and that was the great evolution[br]of women's labor force participation. 0:04:22.254,0:04:23.371 The women who were working, 0:04:23.371,0:04:25.870 from much of the history[br]that I was looking at, 0:04:25.870,0:04:27.855 were young, single women. 0:04:27.855,0:04:31.172 But then it morphed[br]into studying how it was 0:04:31.172,0:04:37.504 that older married women[br]with families joined the workforce. 0:04:37.504,0:04:40.123 Goldin combined[br]deep archival research, 0:04:40.123,0:04:42.222 history, and economics 0:04:42.222,0:04:44.305 to conduct study after study, 0:04:44.305,0:04:46.237 examining how various dimensions 0:04:46.237,0:04:48.788 of women's participation[br]in the US labor force 0:04:48.788,0:04:51.737 evolved over 200 years. 0:04:51.737,0:04:54.605 Goldin's best known[br]for her contributions 0:04:54.605,0:04:56.672 to the economic subgender. 0:04:56.672,0:04:59.023 She sort of pioneers that area. 0:04:59.023,0:05:02.571 - [ ] She has been thinking[br]about things that no one had known, 0:05:02.571,0:05:05.637 like why is it that women's jobs 0:05:05.637,0:05:08.354 were much more likely[br]to be paid piece rate, 0:05:08.354,0:05:10.154 and men's jobs, 0:05:10.154,0:05:12.739 why is money taken away[br]and given to their parents, 0:05:12.739,0:05:16.137 the important role[br]in caring for the family 0:05:16.137,0:05:18.522 and how that affects the labor market. 0:05:18.522,0:05:23.289 She just has a determination[br]to figure out what's true, 0:05:23.289,0:05:26.896 to find the new data,[br]to read the historical sources, 0:05:26.896,0:05:29.921 to think about what[br]the actual people making decisions. 0:05:29.921,0:05:33.455 One of the huge advantages[br]we have as economists, 0:05:33.455,0:05:35.904 we can actually read the diaries 0:05:35.904,0:05:38.236 of actual people[br]making these decisions 0:05:38.236,0:05:39.672 and talk to them and interview them 0:05:39.672,0:05:41.670 when we're doing[br]contemporaneous work 0:05:41.670,0:05:44.374 or read their inner thoughts. 0:05:45.138,0:05:48.038 - [Narrator] As just one example,[br]Goldin 's exhaustive research 0:05:48.038,0:05:50.788 has lead her[br]to identify four phases, 0:05:50.788,0:05:53.072 going back to the late 19th century 0:05:53.072,0:05:55.837 that shaped women's role[br]in the US economy. 0:05:55.837,0:06:00.112 The first three phases[br]were evolutionary. 0:06:00.112,0:06:02.339 While important advances were made[br]through the evolutionary phases 0:06:02.339,0:06:04.373 women also had limited control 0:06:04.373,0:06:07.591 over key decisions[br]affecting their employment. 0:06:07.591,0:06:08.957 Women in those periods 0:06:08.957,0:06:12.525 were more likely to view[br]their working lives as intermittent 0:06:12.525,0:06:15.190 and a means to put food[br]on the table. 0:06:15.190,0:06:19.656 Then came the quiet revolution,[br]starting in the late 1970s. 0:06:19.656,0:06:22.957 Women of the quiet revolution[br]generally viewed their careers 0:06:22.957,0:06:25.815 as a significant part[br]of their personal identity 0:06:25.815,0:06:28.506 and made their own decisions[br]about their working lives. 0:06:28.506,0:06:30.903 Goldin found that this latest phase 0:06:30.903,0:06:34.307 was triggered mainly by[br]increased investments in education 0:06:34.307,0:06:38.389 and increased availability[br]of contraceptives. 0:06:39.255,0:06:40.973 - [Edward] More than[br]any other person, 0:06:40.973,0:06:46.056 she has been central in the study[br]of women and work in economics. 0:06:46.056,0:06:47.856 She gave it a broad,[br]historical sweep, 0:06:47.856,0:06:50.422 she tied it to economic theory[br]in a tight way. 0:06:50.422,0:06:55.271 Anyone who works on the issue[br]of women and work going forward 0:06:55.271,0:06:58.922 will be citing Claudia Goldin[br]and will be influenced by her. 0:06:58.922,0:07:00.957 Working together with Larry Katz, 0:07:00.957,0:07:04.821 she's also done critical research[br]about education, technology, 0:07:04.821,0:07:08.072 and the extreme dangers[br]of income and inequality. 0:07:08.072,0:07:10.239 - [ ] She was among[br]the first to document 0:07:10.239,0:07:14.206 what we now think of[br]as a U- shape of inequality 0:07:14.206,0:07:16.655 over the 20th century. 0:07:16.655,0:07:19.404 To this day, economists[br]are still trying to figure out 0:07:19.404,0:07:21.624 the determinants of that U-shape. 0:07:21.624,0:07:24.023 - [Narrator] As the first woman[br]to be offered [ ] 0:07:24.023,0:07:26.006 in the Harvard Economics Department, 0:07:26.006,0:07:27.223 she also takes her role 0:07:27.223,0:07:30.706 of mentoring the next generation[br]of economists seriously. 0:07:30.706,0:07:32.590 - [ ] As any graduate student will tell you, 0:07:32.590,0:07:34.941 advisors play a critical role. 0:07:34.941,0:07:36.438 It's these personal touches 0:07:36.438,0:07:39.606 that make Claudia Goldin[br]such a wonderful advisor. 0:07:39.606,0:07:42.589 Whether it's walking[br]her dog, Pika, with her, 0:07:42.589,0:07:47.206 receiving midnight texts from her[br]that always made me laugh. 0:07:47.206,0:07:48.407 - [ ] She's not always serious, 0:07:48.407,0:07:50.173 which, of course, is,[br]I think, very important 0:07:50.173,0:07:51.970 because if someone's[br]constantly serious, 0:07:51.970,0:07:55.873 it's just so intimidating[br]as a student. 0:07:55.873,0:07:57.907 In 2014, Goldin started 0:07:57.907,0:08:01.322 the Undergraduate Women[br]in Economics Program -- 0:08:01.322,0:08:05.412 a broad initiative to encourage[br]more female economics majors. 0:08:05.412,0:08:06.796 - [ ] When I'm doing[br]my best research, 0:08:06.796,0:08:10.097 I am reminded[br]what I learned from Claudia, 0:08:10.097,0:08:12.431 and how research can be fun 0:08:12.431,0:08:16.046 and how it's a mystery[br]that you want to unravel. 0:08:16.046,0:08:18.228 - [ ] She brings a joy[br]to her research. 0:08:18.228,0:08:20.596 We were famously called[br]the "dismal science." 0:08:20.596,0:08:22.529 It was certainly when[br]Claudia Goldin does at economics 0:08:22.529,0:08:24.980 isn't anything but dismal. 0:08:25.663,0:08:27.412 - [Narrator] Want to better[br]understand Goldin 0:08:27.412,0:08:29.946 and her contributions[br]to labor economics? 0:08:29.946,0:08:33.112 Click here for related materials[br]and practice questions, 0:08:33.112,0:08:34.412 or check out other videos 0:08:34.412,0:08:37.229 on how economists[br]are tackling all sorts of issues, 0:08:37.229,0:08:38.864 ranging from weighty topics, 0:08:38.864,0:08:41.031 such as the Great Recession[br]and public health 0:08:41.031,0:08:42.147 to everyday topics, like wine-- 0:08:42.147,0:08:44.597 yes, even wine!