Professor Jane Humphries announced as the recipient of the second Alice Murray Award

The award, administered by the Centre for Economics, Policy and History (CEPH), is presented annually to an economic historian whose work has made a major contribution to the discipline.

The award is named after Dr Alice Effie Murray (1877-1951) who was an economic historian who studied the history of commercial and financial relations between England and Ireland. When she received her D.Sc. Econ. in 1903 for her doctorate on the topic, she became the first woman to receive a degree from the London School of Economics. Her thesis was subsequently published by P. S. King in 1907.

As well as receiving the award, Professor Humphries will also give the Alice Murray Distinguished Scholar Lecture titled ‘Caring about care: The economic history of caring labour’ on Thursday, February 27th 2025 at 17:00, in Trinity Long Room Hub. More information and registration details can be found here.

Describing the lecture, Professor Humphries stated “Economists pay little attention to caring labour provided commercially and ignore it if unpaid. Disregard is theoretically indefensible, unjust, ignores services that have significant value, and probably misleads accounts of income and growth. In this lecture I will use some of my recently published research as well as new work to demonstrate the importance of care, particularly unpaid care,”

Professor Humphries is a pioneer in feminist economic history and a champion for recognising women’s contributions to economic analysis. Her career exemplifies intellectual excellence and a commitment to advancing historical understanding of those who have been left behind in previous examinations of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Her research has transformed our understanding of labour markets, industrialization, and the roles of women and children in these fields. Her groundbreaking studies of wages, family incomes, and economic growth have earned numerous honours, including the Arthur H. Cole Prize, Ranki Prize, Royal Economic Society Prize, and she has earned honorary degrees from Uppsala, Sheffield, and Helsinki universities.

Commenting on receiving the award, Professor Humphries said:

“I am pleased and proud to receive the Alice Murray Distinguished Scholar Award. The medal, awarded by the Centre for Economics, Policy and History (CEPH) for major contributions to the discipline, is named in honour of Alice ‘Effie’ Murray (1877-1951), the first woman to receive a D.Sc. Econ. degree from the London School of Economics. She was a member of a group of women economic historians including Ellen McArthur and Lilian Knowles, both of whom taught Effie, whose work deserves broader recognition. My current research focuses on a different kind of work, mainly done by women, which is also undervalued: caring labour.”

Co-director of CEPH Gaia Narciso (Trinity College Dublin) added:

“Professor Jane Humphries is world renowned for her contributions to our understanding of the role of women, child labour and family dynamics in economic development over the past millennium. In particular, her work emphasizes the importance of incorporating women's and child labour into broader economic narratives.”

Professor Humphries has also pioneered research that examines the impact of the Industrial Revolution on women and children. In particular, her examination of financial dependency suggests that the rise of the male-breadwinner family can be pinpointed to the increasing financial dependency of women in this critical time. This focus on the impact of these critical decades on the role and place of women aligns closely with the academic career of Alice Murray and pushes economic history to a greater understanding of wider societal and cultural impacts.

Co-director of CEPH John Turner, Queen’s University Belfast, said:

“Her history from below of this dark side of the Industrial Revolution paints images of great suffering and stoicism on the part of working-class children. Her work put the humanity back into economic history and the trauma back into our understanding of the Industrial Revolution and those dark satanic mills.”

The Alice Murray Award will be presented to Professor Humphries on February 27th 2025 at 17:00, after which she will deliver the Alice Murray Distinguished Scholar Lecture, titled ‘Caring about care: The economic history of caring labour’.

This event will take place in the Neill Lecture Theatre of the Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin. All are welcome to attend, and can register your attendance here.

Media Contact:

Fiona Tyrrell | Media Relations | tyrrellf@tcd.ie | +353 1 896 3551