Women mix it with the Economy

"Have you all noticed something?", asked recently at a meeting of the International monetary Fund (IMF) Boss Christine Lagarde in the round. Without that, you had to say it, all knew, on what feature you are referring to. On a Podium of the session, the three "chief economist" of the international economic organizations IMF , world Bank and OECD sat .

But are occupied for the first Time in history, all three Items of women. Since the beginning of the year, the American-Indian dual citizen of the Gita Gopinath chief economist at the IMF, since last autumn, the Greek Pinelopi Goldberg has this Post at the world Bank, and since last summer, the Frenchwoman Laurence Boone those in the OECD And just a few weeks ago, it was with the 38-year-old canadian Emi Nakamura, in turn, a woman won the most important award of the Economists after the Nobel prize: the John Bates Clark Medal of the American economists Association, American Economic Association.

Laurence Boone, chief economist at the OECD. Photo: Imago

This is a remarkable development. Money and the economy were long regarded as men's business. It could be in the genes and, therefore, the endowment that it is for women in some of the Sciences harder, said in January 2005, the renowned Economist Larry Summers, then President of the elite University of Harvard and former US Treasury Secretary.

disobeyed a Professor

How such prejudices in Switzerland had, once told Schelbert, the recently deceased Heidi. As the first economy wanted to include a Professor from the University of Zurich together with her husband, a mortgage, denied the Bank because your husband could take advantage of. For he must understand as a man, in principle, more of the economy. In truth and In fact her husband had, in contrast to her, with the Economy on the hat.

The recent successes of the women are best for the early stages of a change. Under the previous 41 winners of the above-mentioned John Bates Clark Medal, four women are in the first place. You all have received the award in the past twelve years. Quite a number of winners of the medal have subsequently received the Nobel prize or the Sveriges Riksbank donated the Alfred Nobel memorial prize, he is right.

Because of the Nobel prize for recent research, women are among the price-makers represented. Of the 81 since 1969, a year awards to be given to Economics, only one went to a woman. In 2009, three years later, the late Elinor Ostrom received the Nobel prize for their research on collective action in times of scarce resources, along with Oliver Williamson.

Emi Nakamura won the most important award. Photo: PD

Still, women in the Economy have made it harder than men: "women have, unfortunately, not be able to grow, this in contrast to the natural Sciences," says, for example, Monika Bütler, Professor of Economics at the University of St. Gallen. "What has changed is that female Economists have become in the last five years, louder, and for your concern." Bütler, together with Iris Bohnet and Beatrice Weder Di Mauro to those Economists, the count for some years of the internationally most well-known from Switzerland.

USA

according to the Economist, will be especially in the USA fruit: "The self-consciousness of science is an interior pronounced in the USA," says Monika Bütler. "This is also the result of a long development, but it is there. In Switzerland, a self-confident appearance of women is also less good." In the most recent year of the US-Economists meeting in January in Atlanta, the difficulties, the economists were also the subject of a private event.

Renowned Economists came to a Podium to the conclusion that the climate scare in the scientific discourses of women often and you cancel, not infrequently, therefore, the study. Criticism is usually expressed not constructive, but often devastating. As the former Head of the US Central Bank, Janet Yellen, said to be the joint Work in the subject is crucial. And because women are over-represented in the networks of men less, they would have, it is sometimes also heavier, to benefit from it.

obstacle nomadism

to make matters worse, the nomadism: stays in other countries are for the career today is essential. "I did not feel confident for a long time to establish in addition to the academic career or a family. How many members of my Generation, I had my kids late," says Monika Bütler. After all, here seems to have a change: "Today, researchers have been restored earlier in children than in the past. Still, this is but difficult to reconcile with a career in the science of Economics," says Bütler.

Pinelopi Goldberg, chief economist at the world Bank. Photo: Keystone

The inroads of the women is also due to the development of the subject: "In comparison to earlier theoretical models and ideologies play a much smaller role," says Bütler. "Who is not based on empirical analyses, not to publish in prestigious journals." You yourself have angeödet ideological debates have always been, says the Economist. Also, the movement of the Economy towards more political and social questions to draw more women, Bütler convinced.

It is hardly a coincidence that the Work of the aforementioned economist, internal turning highly relevant to current issues. The new IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath has stream name with its Work on the importance of the dollar in the Trade of emerging countries. Pinelopi Goldberg is an expert on world trade and has co-authored a much-cited work on the consequences of trump's trade war. And Emi Nakamura has delivered on the basis of detailed data analyses of the missing foundations for the modern economic policy, especially for those of the Central banks.

(editing Tamedia)

Created: 14.05.2019, 22:33 PM