What are the causes of rising wage inequality in the United States?

Bound, John; Johnson, George

Journal Article

What are the causes of rising wage inequality in the United States?

Abstract: During the last 15 years--especially in the 1980s--wage inequality rose in the United States. It appears that this can be explained by a secular shift in production functions favoring workers with intellectual rather than manual skills, together with slower growth in the supply of skilled labor than in the previous decade.

Keywords: Education; Labor supply; Wages; Income distribution;