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Goldin, Claudia Dale

Article Journey across a Century of Women

NBER Reporter

Provided in Cooperation with: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Cambridge, Mass.

Suggested Citation: Goldin, Claudia Dale (2020) : Journey across a Century of Women, NBER Reporter, ISSN 0276-119X, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Cambridge, MA, Iss. 3, pp. 1-7

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A quarterly summary of NBER research No. 3, September 2020

The 2020 Martin S. Feldstein Lecture

Journey across a Century of Women

Claudia Goldin

My talk will take us on a Journey across a Century of Women — a 120- year odyssey of generations of college-graduate women from a time when they were only able to have either a family or a (sometimes a ), to now, when they anticipate having both a family and a career. More women than ever before are within striking distance of these goals. Fully 45 percent of young American women today will eventually have a BA degree, and more than 20 percent of them will obtain an advanced degree above an MA. More than 80 percent of 45-year-old college-graduate women have children, either biological or adopted. More women than men graduate Claudia Goldin from college, and there is greater similarity in their ambitions and achieve- ments than ever before. This should all make for a very pleasant ending to the ALSO IN THIS ISSUE journey. But that happy ending doesn’t seem to be happening. A few clarifica- Black Officeholders and tions: my evidence concerns the and the history of its college- Spending on Public Goods 8 graduate men and women. I will focus on college-graduate women because they have the greatest opportunities to achieve “career.” Career is achieved Capital Market Risks in Emerging Markets 12 over time, as the etymology of the word — meaning to run a race — would Integrating Renewable Generation imply. A career generally involves advancement and persistence and is a long- into Electricity Markets 16 lasting, sought-after , the type of work — writer, teacher, doc- Are US Treasury Bonds Still a Safe Haven? 20 tor, accountant, religious leader — which often shapes one’s identity. A career NBER News 29 needn’t begin right after the highest educational degree; it can emerge later in life. A career is different from a job. generally do not become part Conferences 26 of one’s identity or life’s purpose. They are often solely taken for generating Program Meeting 34 income and generally do not have a clear set of milestones. NBER Books 35 I recently finished most of a book on this century-long journey. But my book, like the Old Testament, was written in a BCE world — in this case,

*Claudia Goldin is the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard and director of the NBER’s Gender in the Economy Study Group. She was director of the NBER’s Development of the American Economy Program from 1989 to 2017, and is a past president of the American Economic Association.

Reporter Online at: www.nber.org/reporter-2020-03 Before the Corona Era. Many inequities have NBER Reporter been exposed by the COVID-19 economy and NBER Reporter society, most notably those concerning social justice and our criminal justice system. The The National Bureau of Economic Research is a private, nonprofit research organization COVID economy has also magnified gender founded in 1920 and devoted to objective quantitative analysis of the American economy. Its differences at work and in the home. Women officers and board of directors are: The National Bureau of Economic Research is a private, nonprofit research orga- are essential workers, but cannot be that at Presidentnization and Chief founded Executive in 1920 Officer and —devoted to objective quantitative analysis of the American economy. Its officers andJames board M. of Poterba directors are: home and at work simultaneously. The burden Controller — Kelly Horak CorporatePresident Secretary and — Chief Alterra Executive Milone Officer — James M. Poterba of school closings on working parents that will BOARDController OF DIRECTORS — Kelly Horak continue into the coming year could erase years Corporate Secretary — Alterra Milone of career gains by young women in a way we Chair — BOARDJohn Lipsky OF DIRECTORS Vice Chair — Peter Blair Henry have rarely seen. That is where my talk will take TreasurerChair — Robert — John Mednick Lipsky us. But first, we must journey to the beginning. DIRECTORSVice Chair AT — LARGE Peter Blair Henry I’ll begin the journey 120 years ago, when col- Treasurer — Robert Mednick Susan M. Collins Robert S. Hamada Robert T. Parry lege-graduate women were faced with the stark KathleenDIRECTORS B. Cooper AT LARGEPeter Blair Henry Douglas Peterson choice of family or career (sometimes a job). CharlesSusan H. Dallara M. Collins KarenRobert N. Horn S. Hamada AliciaJames H. M. Munnell Poterba Five distinct groups of women can be dis- GeorgeKathleen C. Eads B. Cooper LisaPeter Jordan Blair Henry RobertJohn S. T. Reed Parry Jessica P.Charles Einhorn H. Dallara JohnKaren Lipsky N. Horn DouglasHal Varian Peterson cerned across the past 120 years, according to their MohamedGeorge El-Erian C. Eads LaurenceLisa Jordan H. Meyer JamesMark M.Weinberger Poterba changing aspirations and achievements. Group Diana FarrellJessica P. Einhorn KarenJohn Mills Lipsky JohnMartin S. Reed B. Zimmerman One graduated from college between 1900 and Helena MohamedFoulkes El-Erian MichaelLaurence H. Moskow H. Meyer Hal Varian Jacob A.Diana Frenkel Farrell AliciaKaren H. MunnellMills Mark Weinberger 1919 and achieved “Career or Family.” Group Helena Foulkes Michael H. Moskow Martin B. Zimmerman Two was a transition generation between Group DIRECTORSJacob A. BY Frenkel UNIVERSITY APPOINTMENT One, which had few children, and Group Three, Timothy Bresnahan, Stanford Samuel Kortum, Yale which had many. It achieved “Job then Family.” Pierre-AndréDIRECTORS Chiappori, BY UNIVERSITY Columbia APPOINTMENTGeorge Mailath, Pennsylvania Group Three, the subject of Betty Friedan’s MaureenTimothy Cropper, Bresnahan, Maryland Stanford JoelBenjamin Mokyr, Hermalin, Northwestern California, Berkeley , graduated from college Alan V.Pierre-André Deardorff, Michigan Chiappori, Columbia CeciliaSamuel Elena Kortum, Rouse, Yale Princeton The Feminine Mystique GrahamMaureen Elliott, California,Cropper, Maryland San Diego RichardGeorge L. Mailath, Schmalensee, Pennsylvania MIT\ between 1946 and 1965 and achieved “Family EdwardAlan Foster, V. Deardorff,Minnesota Michigan LarsJoel Stole, Mokyr, Chicago Northwestern then Job.” Group Four, my generation, graduated Bruce Hansen,Graham Wisconsin-Madison Elliott, California, San Diego IngCecilia o Wa lElena t er, New Rouse, York Princeton between 1966 and 1979 and attempted “Career BenjaminEdward Hermalin, Foster, California Minnesota, Berkeley DavidRichard B. Yoffie,L. Schmalensee, Harvard MIT Lars Stole, Chicago Ing o Wa l t er, New York then Family.” Group Five continues to today and DIRECTORSBruce Hansen, BY APPOINTMENT Wisconsin-Madison OF OTHERDavid ORGANIZATIONS B. Yoffie, Harvard desires “Career and Family.” TimothyDIRECTORS Beatty, Agricultural BY APPOINTMENT and Applied Economics OF OTHER Association ORGANIZATIONS College-graduate women in Group One Martin TimothyGruber, American Beatty, Agricultural Finance Association and Applied Economics Association aspired to “Family or Career.” Few managed both. Philip Hoffman,Martin Gruber, Economic American History Finance Association Association In fact, they split into two groups: 50 percent Arthur Kennickell, Philip Hoffman, American Economic Statistical History Association Association never bore a child, 32 percent never married. In Robert ArthurMednick, Kennickell, American American Institute ofStatistical Certified Association Public Accountants Dana M.Lynn Peterson, Reaser, The National Conference Association Board for Business Economics the portion of Group One that had a family, just Lynn Reaser,Robert National Mednick, Association American for Institute Business of EconomicsCertified Public Accountants a small fraction ever worked for pay. More Group Peter L. Rousseau, Peter L. Rousseau,American American Economic Economic Association Association Two college women aspired to , but the Gregor GregorW. Smith, W. CanadianSmith, Canadian Economics Economics Association Association WilliamWilliam Spriggs, Spriggs, American American Federation Federation of Labor of and Labor and intervened, and this transi- CongressC ofongress Industrial of Industrial Organizations Organizations tional generation got a job then family instead. Dana M. Peterson, The NBER depends on fundingThe Conference from individuals, Board corporations, and private foundations As America was swept away in a tide of early mar- to maintain its independence and its flexibility in choosing its research activities. Inquiries riages and a subsequent baby boom, Group Three concerningThe NBERcontributions depends may on befunding addressed from toindividuals, James M. corporations, Poterba, President and private & CEO, college women shifted to planning for a fam- NBER,foundations 1050 Massachusetts to maintain Avenue, its independence Cambridge, MAand its02138-5398. flexibility inAll choosing contributions its to the NBERresearch are tax-deductible. activities. Inquiries concerning contributions may be addressed to James ily then a job. Just 9 percent of the group never M. Poterba, President & CEO, NBER, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, married, and 18 percent never bore a child. Even MA 02138-5398. All contributions to the NBER are tax-deductible. The Reporter is issued for informational purposes and has not been reviewed by the Board though their labor force participation rates were of Directors of the NBER. It is not copyrighted and can be freely reproduced with appro- low when they were young, they rose greatly — to priate attributionThe Reporter of issource. issued Please for informational provide the purposesNBER’s Publicand has Information not been reviewed Department with copiesby the of Board anything of Directors reproduced. of the NBER. It is not copyrighted and can be freely 73 percent — when they and their children were reproduced with appropriate attribution of source. Please provide the NBER’s older. But by the time these women entered the RequestsPublic for Informationsubscriptions, Department changes ofwith address, copies ofand anything cancellations reproduced. should be sent to Reporter, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc., 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, workplace, it was too late for them to develop Cambridge,Requests MA for 02138-5398 subscriptions, (please changes include of address, the current and cancellations mailing label), should or be by sent email to their jobs into full-fledged careers. [email protected] Reporter,. Print National copies Bureau of the of Reporter Economic are Research, only mailed Inc., to1050 subscribers Massachusetts in the US “Career then Family” became a goal for many and Canada;Avenue, those Cambridge, in other MA nations 02138-5398 may request (please includeelectronic the currentsubscriptions mailing atlabel), https:// my.nber.org/email_preferences.or by email to [email protected]. Print copies of the Reporter are only mailed to sub- in Group Four. This group, aided by the Pill, scribers in the US and Canada; those in other nations may request electronic sub- delayed marriage and children to obtain more scriptions at www.nber.org/drsubscribe/.

2 NBER Reporter • No. 3, September 2020 ians, and administrators after the kids were Five Groups of College-Graduate Women: A Century of Work, Marriage, and Children sufficiently grown. For Group Four, the

Group, College Years, Never Married, Never Married, No Children Labor Force Labor Force Pill and its dissemination to young, single (Birth Years) by Age 30 by Age 50 (by Age 45) Rate at 25-29, Rate at 45-49, women enabled the delay of marriage and Achievement/Aspiration if Ever Married if Ever Married family and helped boost their investment Group 1: 1900-19 (1878-1897) 53% 32% 50% ~20% 30% in a career. But the biological clock ran out Career or Family for many of these women. Group Five has Group 2: 1920-45 pushed back marriage and family even fur- (1898-1923) 38% 19% 36% 28% 58% Job then Family ther, but birth rates have risen, in part due to assisted reproductive technologies that Group 3: 1946-65 (1924-1943) 16% 9% 18% 35% 73% have enabled this group to “beat the clock.” Family then Job The transition wasn’t swift and it Group 4: 1966-79 wasn’t due mainly to dissent. Instead, it (1944-1957) 21% 9% 27% 76% 85% Career then Family was often due to technological advances,

Group 5: 1980-2000* increased earnings, and greater . (1958-1978) 27% 12% 21% 83% 84% Career and Family Aspirations and achievements of col- lege women greatly changed across the

*Group 5 extends to the present but is listed here as having an upper birth year limit of 1978 to track its members to their early forties past century, with increased income, the Source: Researcher’s calculations (from voluminous data sets) mechanization of the household, and tech- nological improvements in fertility control Table 1 and assisted reproductive methods. But the education and a promising professional effect by enabling women to be financially structure of work and the persistence of trajectory. Consequently, the group had independent — they didn’t have to marry. social norms, no matter how much weaker high employment rates when young. But After Group One, as women’s potential they have become, have limited the success the delay in having children led 27 percent earnings rose and as substitutes for house- of college-graduate women in achieving to never have children. Now, for Group hold goods became cheaper, husbands’ career and family. Five the goal is career and family, and preferences, rather than necessarily chang- An important accompaniment to although they are delaying marriage and ing, became more expensive. Though fam- the transition across the Groups concerns childbirth even more than Group Four, ily came first for Group Three, college changes in customs and norms. For the just 21 percent don’t have children. women planned their home confinement past 50 years, the General Social Survey You may be thinking that, because and their eventual escape. They trained to has asked respondents whether they agree of large increases in college graduation, be teachers, nurses, social workers, librar- more or less strongly with the statement: most of the differences “Preschool children are across the groups con- likely to suffer if their cern selection into who Evolving Sentiment: Mothers’ Employment and Childrens’ Wellbeing mother works.” The goes to and graduates responses are depicted Share of males and females who agree with the statement: from college. The sur- “Pre-school children are likely to suffer if their mother works” by the respondents’ prising finding is that 100% birth years. As can selection is not that 90 be seen, agreement is important. I’ve tracked 80 always less for women college entrance classes 70 than for men, and from the 1890s to the 60 Males decreases for both men

1990s of women who 50 and women by birth have similar ability 40 Females cohort. It also increases and parental resources. 30 with age, since ear-

Their marriage ages and 20 lier birth cohorts were birth fractions track generally older when 10 those of the total col- interviewed than more 0 lege- graduate group 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 recent birth cohorts. astoundingly well. Birth year of respondent Norms became more Treatment, not selec- expensive to sustain, Data represent 5-year moving average tion, dominates. Source: Researcher’s calculations using data from the General Social Survey and they changed. At College for Group the same time that One had a treatment Figure 1 the cost of not work-

NBER Reporter • No. 3, September 2020 3 ing rose, childcare became more avail- Even though a succession of passed the baton to the next, and as able, more commonly used, and gener- women, group after group, advanced actual barriers fell and social norms ally more acceptable. on this journey, women’s careers still changed, the real underlying problem To measure the degree of success often take a back seat to those of that fuels differences in occupations, at achieving both promotions, and pay career and family has been revealed. that women in these Fraction of College-Graduate Women with Career and Family Unquestionably, groups achieved, I 35% classic discrimina- created definitions. tion, bad actors, sex- Family means having 30 Age group ual harassment, and 35–39 a child, biological 25 biased workers and or adopted, but not 50–54 exist. But necessarily a husband 20 most of the differ- or partner. (Sorry, 15 ence is due to some- dogs do not count as thing else. surrogate children). 10 To paraphrase

Career is achieved 5 Betty Friedan, the by exceeding a level new “problem with of income for three 0 no name” is the 1931–37 1938–44 1945–50 1951–57 1958–65 years in each five- Birth years notion of Greedy year period where Work — that there the income level is Career is defined for a woman as earning above the 25th percentile of the full-time, full-year distribution for comparable are large nonlineari- males for any three years out of five in the age bracket. Family is defined as having at least one child. given by the income Source: Researcher’s calculations using data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the US Census Bureau, CPS ties and convexities of a man of the same in pay. To have a fam- age and education at ily takes the time of the 25th percentile Figure 2 at least one parent. of the male distribution. Several lon- their husbands. The most recent group There is no way to contract out all gitudinal datasets are used, namely has expressed its disappointments and childcare, and one wouldn’t want to the National Longitudinal Survey of frustrations by focusing on issues such do that, or why have children in the Youth (1979) and the Health and as bias, pay inequity, transpar- first place? Parents have children to Study (HRS) linked to ency, and . spend time with them. For college Social Security and tax data. But as each group progressed and graduates, the gender gap in earnings Interestingly, suc- is an indication and cess at career and Ratio of Female to Male Median Annual Earnings, 1960–2017 a symptom of career family for women blockage. increased both across 0.85 Women earn and within cohorts. less than men, on The success rate for 0.80 average. The ratio women in their mid- All workers of women’s earn- 0.75 50s is around 30 per- ings to men’s, often cent — half that for 0.70 adjusted by hours of men — for the lat- College graduate workers work, is referred to est group that can be 0.65 as the gender earn- observed until that 0.60 ings gap, since it is age. This is the group often given as the born between 1958 0.55 log of the ratio. The and 1965. But the suc- ratio for all workers cess rate for that birth 0.50 narrowed consider- group of women was 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 ably from the early just 22 percent when Data is for full-time, full-year workers. Three-year centered moving averages are used for both series. 1960s until today, Source: Researcher’s calculations using data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Current they were in their late Population Survey, and the US Census Bureau but is still around 30s, or 40 percent of 0.8. That for college- the success rate for graduate women to Figure 3 comparable men. college-graduate men

4 NBER Reporter • No. 3, September 2020 followed a similar path until the late are on-call at work. The reasons for both In consequence, he earns more than 1980s, when it flattened out. Some gender inequality and couple inequity she does. That gives rise to a gender of the clues as to why the ratio is still are the same. The issues are the two sides gap in earnings. It also produces cou- substantial and why the ratio for col- of the problem mentioned above. ple inequity. If the flexible job were lege-graduate women to men became Many jobs, especially the higher- more productive, the difference would smaller than for the aggregate after the earning ones, pay far more on an hourly be smaller, and family equity would be late 1980s are: basis when the work is long, on-call, cheaper to purchase. Couples would rush, evening, weekend, and unpre- acquire it and reduce both the fam- • The gender gap in earnings dictable. And these time commitments ily and the aggregate gender gap. They exists for both annual earnings interfere with family responsibilities. would also enhance couple equity. and those on an hourly basis, The problem is illustrated here. Note that even if these were same- so it is not just due to the fact One job (the gray line) is flexible sex couples, there could still be couple that women work fewer hours. and has a constant with respect to inequity without gender inequality. And hours. The other job (blue line) is not even if couples wanted a 50-50 relation- • Women with children earn less so flexible and has a wage rate — the ship, high earnings for the position that than women without children. slope of the earnings curve — that rises had less-controllable hours could entice with hours. A couple with children them to engage in a new version of an old • Earnings gaps increase with can’t both work at the blue dot. They division of household labor. age up to a point, and they could both work at the gray dot. But if What are the solutions? First off, increase any solution must with joy- Gender Inequality and Couple Inequality involve lowering ous events the cost of the ame-

like births Earnings per week nity — temporal flex- and, often, ibility. The simplest

marriage. is to create good sub- Less flexible position stitutes. Clients could • Gaps are be handed off with no greater at loss of information. the upper Inflexibility premium Successfully deployed end of male IT could be used to earnings and pass information with education More flexible position little loss in fidelity. levels. Teams of substitutes, not teams of comple- • The more ments, could be cre- unequal ated, as they have Hours per week H* earnings are been in pediatrics,

for an occu- For illustrative purposes only anesthesiology, veter- pation, the inary medicine, per- lower are Figure 4 sonal banking, trust women’s and estate law, soft- earnings relative to men’s. they did, they would be leaving a lot of ware engineering, and primary care. money on the table: for each of them The cheaper the amenity, the more lin- • The gender earnings gap it is given by the distance between the ear total pay becomes by hours worked. is greater in occupations two dots. So one works the flexible, less But the tale I have been telling that have more demands on remunerative job and the other works has been set in a BCE world. In mid- employee time and where face the less flexible, more remunerative job. March 2020, suddenly and swiftly, we time and client relationships More often than not, the man takes the descended into a DC (During Corona) matter most. less flexible, higher-paying job. world. Most workers sheltered in place For many highly educated couples and worked from home. Fortunate The flip side to gender inequality is with children, she’s a professional who children had online schooling and at- couple inequity. Working mothers are is also on-call at home. He’s a profes- home help. Less fortunate workers were on-call at home whereas working fathers sional who is also on-call at the office. deemed essential and often worked in

NBER Reporter • No. 3, September 2020 5 unhealthful circumstances. Less fortu- temporarily furloughed care work- the AC/DC world will be the BCE nate children lost valuable schooling. ers who had worked in their homes. world on steroids. How does our understanding of the That greatly increased the child-care Here, I must go even further out BCE world of career and family help us demands on mothers. But there was on a data limb since, even though the understand the impact of the new DC also more parental sharing, since many first day of school is imminent as I am era, and what will come after? I will focus households had both parents at home writing this, districts are still debat- on college-graduate, employed adults full time. Consequently, the fraction ing what they will do. One possible and their families. These parents and of performed by women scenario is that in the AC/DC world, their children are clearly in the more for- fell, even as the absolute number of total child-care and home-schooling tunate category. I use hours will be halfway the American Time between what existed Weekly Childcare Provided by Employed, College-Graduate Mothers Use Survey (ATUS) For married mothers with employed, college-graduate husbands in the BCE and DC from 2010 to 2019 worlds. That makes 45 hours to compute child-care Before Corona Era (BCE) sense if schools and 61% 75% hours of mothers and 40 During Corona (DC) child care are avail- fathers by the age of 35 After Corona and During Corona (AC/DC) able half the week. their youngest child. But because of non- 30 70% The child-care 66% 54% linearities in work, 25 Fraction of total hours of the moth- childcare hours that are one member of the 70% 20 59% 54% provided by the mother ers in the BCE world 52% 74% couple will go back 15 are given by the dark 60% to work full time and 10 gray bars, and the 58% 60% 83% the other will work 5 fraction of the total 65% part-time from home parental child-care 0 and take care of the hours is given above Youngest age <1 Age 1<3 Age 3<6 Age 6<13 Age 13<18 kids whenever in-per- the bars. In the BCE son school is out and Daily childcare x7. BCE hours come from a sample of women in the ATUS who were currently employed, college graduates with world, college-gradu- at least one child younger than 18. DC hours are estimated by increasing BCE hours by 1.51 for mothers and 1.9 for fathers virtual school is in. (based on studies from April 2020) and then adding four additional hours per day for school-aged children. AC/DC hours for the ate employed mothers couple are the average of BCE and DC hours, but fathers are given only BCE childcare hours (assuming full-time work). Mothers If history is any are assumed to be doing the rest of the childcare. with college-graduate Source: Researcher’s calculations using data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics guide, men will go back employed husbands to work full time and and school-aged chil- Figure 5 revert to their BCE dren were working around 60 percent hours greatly increased. For those with childcare levels. Women will take up the of total child-care hours. That fraction sick relatives, other care hours also slack and do a greater share of the total. was higher for mothers with the young- increased, and for single mothers, care The bottom line may be that there est children and lowest for those with hours must have been overwhelming. will be no net gains for working women the oldest children. We are now moving to an entirely in the AC/DC world. What they gain The descent into the DC world new AC/DC (After Corona/During from minimal school and daycare open- almost doubled total child-care hours Corona) world. Draconian pandemic ings, they lose from less parental help for working couples with children. restrictions have been partially lifted at home. Because of convex hourly pay, The dark blue bars denote the hours in some schools and daycare facilities. couple equity remains expensive for that mothers contributed to child care Daycare centers opened in most states the family unit. That expense persists and are derived from various surveys by the early summer. There will probably from the BCE world, and the careers done in the United States and else- be full-time in-place schooling in smaller of many young women will take a back where in April 2020, together with school districts, part-time schooling seat on this journey. many assumptions. (The ATUS was together with part-time virtual at-home The corrective in the BCE world not administered in March and April schooling in most of the larger, urban was to change the workplace by driv- 2020, and although it was restarted in districts, and entirely virtual at-home ing down the price of flexibility. The May, those numbers won’t be available schooling in other districts. corrective in the AC/DC world must for some time.) But full-time work has returned to change the care place by driving down In mid-March 2020, almost 90 many offices, stores, workplaces, con- the cost of child care and other fam- percent of school-aged children were struction sites, factories, and elsewhere. ily demands. But how can one do that not physically in a school, and most What can we expect to happen to the safely and equitably? child-care facilities for younger chil- child-care and home-schooling burdens When public and free elementary dren were shuttered. Many families placed on parents? For most mothers, schools spread in the United States in the

6 NBER Reporter • No. 3, September 2020 19th century, and when they expanded cially those from lower-income fami- employ those without jobs, meaning, during the high school movement of the lies. They could free parents, especially and direction and give them some- early 20th century, a coordinated equi- women, to return to work. I’ll repur- thing worthy to do: educate the next librium was provided by good govern- pose a name and call them the “Civilian generation and help women go back to ments. Good government today could College Corps” — a new CCC. work full time, either in their homes or do the same thing. We need to find safe Some of the Corps’ educational on-site. ways to have classes for children — for work could be done remotely. The In the BCE world, if the cost of their futures and for their parents’. Corps could support beleaguered par- flexibility were much lower, we would As in the Great Depression, we ents too exhausted to correct their solve the problem of Greedy Work and have unemployed labor. Today, many children’s essays and too confused achieve both gender equality and cou- of the unemployed are highly educated to help their children with algebra. ple equity. In the AC/DC world, we recent college graduates and gap-year Other Corps members could be in the must also reduce the cost to parents college students with little to do. They classroom, helping districts cope with of educating and caring for children of could be harnessed in a new Works having fewer teachers because some all ages. The original journey was from Progress Administration manner and older teachers don’t want to return to career or family to career and family. put to work educating children, espe- a school building. The Corps could The Journey continues.

NBER Reporter • No. 3, September 2020 7