Clara Eliot (1896 – January 17, 1976) was an

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

known for her work in

consumer economics Microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the behavior of individuals and firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of scarce resources and the interactions among these individuals and firms. Microeconomics focuses on the ...

. She taught economics at

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

for many years.

Biography

Eliot was born in 1896, the granddaughter of

Thomas Lamb Eliot Thomas Lamb Eliot ( – ) was an Oregon pioneer, minister of one of the first churches on the west coast of the U.S., president of the Portland Children's Home, president of the Oregon Humane Society, a director of the Art Association, director ...

and part of a prominent Unitarian branch of the Eliot family. She did her undergraduate studies at

Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...

, which her grandfather had founded, graduating in 1917. She taught at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

from 1917 to 1918, and then worked as an assistant to Yale economist

Irving Fisher Irving Fisher (February 27, 1867 – April 29, 1947) was an American economist, statistician, inventor, eugenicist and progressive social campaigner. He was one of the earliest American neoclassical economists, though his later work on debt de ...

from 1918 to 1920. She also worked as an elementary school teacher; one of her students from this time, Margaret E. Martin, grew up to become a noted economist. As a graduate student in economics at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, Eliot met educational psychologist Robert Bruce Raup; they married in 1924, but Eliot continued to use her maiden name for professional purposes. She completed her doctorate in 1926, and became a faculty member at

. When her daughter Joan was born in 1926, she became the first woman at Barnard to obtain a

maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave ...

. Eliot is the author of the book ''The Farmer's Campaign for Credit'' (1927), "a study of basic issues in credit theory as they were involved in United States agricultural policies early in this century". In the 1950s she tackled feminist issues with publications about the economic situation of

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

s (increasingly common after reductions in the rate of pregnancy-related deaths) and about the economics of marriage. Eliot's daughter Joan R. Rosenblatt became a noted statistician. Another daughter, Charlotte, married Columbia University historian Lawrence A. Cremin.

Selected publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliot, Clara 1896 births 1976 deaths Eliot family (United States) 20th-century American economists American women economists Reed College alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Mills College faculty Barnard College faculty 20th-century American women