Overview

INEQUALITY:	Professor Martina Morris
Current trends and explanations

This course will cover the recent growth in economic inequality in the US, and the competing explanations for these new trends. The explanations take three forms: those that emphasize supply side shifts in the demographics of the labor market; those that emphasize the demand side shifts in industrial composition and firm-level restructuring; and those that emphasize the broader political context that affects policies like the minimum wage, the strength of unions, and the impact of foreign trade.

Overview

The last three decades

September 14

Required: Karoly, LA. 1993. "The trend in Inequality among families, individuals and workers in the United States: A 25 year perspective." Pp. 19-97 in Uneven Tides: Rising Inequality in America, edited by S Danziger and P Gottschalk. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Supplemental:

Burtless, G. 1996. "The progress and distribution of US living standards, 1959-1995." North American Journal of Economics and Finance 8:111-133.

Freeman, R, and L Katz. 1994. "Rising Wage Inequality: The United States vs. Other Advanced Countries." Pp. 29-62 in Working Under Different Rules, edited by R Freeman. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Katz, LF, and KM Murphy. 1992. "Changes in relative wages, 1963-1987: Supply and demand factors." Quarterly Journal of Economics 107:35-78.

Massey, DS. 1996. "The age of extremes : Concentrated affluence and poverty in the twenty-first century." Demography 33:395-412.

Morris, M, A Bernhardt, and M Handcock. 1994. "Economic Inequality: New Methods for New Trends." American Sociological Review 59:205-19.

Smeeding, T, and P Gottschalk. 1996. "America's income inequality: Where do we stand?" Challenge 39:45-53.

The historical context

September 21

Required: Chapters 1 and 13 from Williamson, JG, and PH Lindert. 1980. American inequality: A macroeconomic history. New York: Academic Press.

Supplemental: Chapters 2-6, 10-12 in Williamson and Lindert

Other:

Goldin, C, and RA Margo. 1992. "The great compression: The wage structure in the United States at mid-century." Quarterly Journal of Economics 107:1-34.

Kutscher, RE. 1993. "Historical trends, 1950-92, and current uncertainties." Monthly Labor Review 116:3-10.

Demographic Shifts

Age

September 28

Required: Bloom, DE, RB Freeman, and SD Korenman. 1987. "The labor-market consequences of generational crowding." European Journal of Population 3:131-76.

Supplemental:

Dooley, M, and P Gottschalk. 1982. "Does a younger male labor force mean growing earnings inequality?" Monthly Labor Review 105:42-45.

Dooley, M, and P Gottschalk. 1984. "Earnings inequality among males in the United States: Trends and the effect of labor force growth." Journal of Political Economy 92:59-89.

Dooley, M, and P Gottschalk. 1985. "The increasing proportion of men with low earnings in the United States." Demography 22:25-34.

Schrammel, K. 1998. "Comparing the labor market success of young adults from two generations." Monthly Labor Review :3-48.

Sex

October 9 (Friday)

Required: Blau, FD. 1998. "Trends in the Well-Being of American Women, 1970-1995." Journal of Economic Literature 36:112.

Supplemental:

Bernhardt, A, M Morris, and M Handcock. 1995. "Women's Gains or Men's Losses? A Closer Look at the Shrinking Gender Gap in Earnings." American Journal of Sociology 101:302-28.

Cancian, M, P Gottschalk, and S Danziger. 1993. "Working wives and family income inequality among married couples." Pp. 195-221 in Uneven Tides: Rising Inequality in America, edited by S Danziger and P Gottschalk. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Spain, D, and SM Bianchi. 1996. Balancing Act: Motherhood, Marriage, and Employment Among American Women. New York: Russel Sage Foundation.

Immigration

October 12

Required:

Borjas, GJ. 1997. "How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes?" Brookings Papers on Economic Activity :1-90.

Douglas, P. 1919. "Is the new immigration more unskilled than the old?" Journal of the American Statistical Association 16:393-403.

Other:

LaLonde, RJ, and RH Topel. 1991. "Labor market adjustments to increased immigration." Pp. 167-200 in Immigration, Trade, and the Labor Market, edited by JM Abowd and RB Freeman. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Altonji, JG, and D Card. 1991. "The effects of immigration on the labor market outcomes of less-skilled natives." in Immigration, Trade, and the Labor Market, edited by JM Abowd and RB Freeman. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Butcher, KF, and J DiNardo. 1998. The Immigrant and native-born wage distributions: evidence from the United States Census. report #6638 : National Bureau of Economic Research.

Education

October 19

Required: Murphy, KM, and F Welch. 1993. "Industrial change and the rising importance of skill." Pp. 101-132 in Uneven Tides: Rising Inequality in America, edited by S Danziger and P Gottschalk. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Supplemental:

Krueger, AB. 1993. "How Computers Have Changed the Wage Structure: Evidence from Microdata, 1984-1989." Quarterly Journal of Economics CVIII:33.

DiNardo, JE, and J-S Pischke. 1997. "The Returns to Computer Use Revisited: Have Pencils Changed the Wage Structure Too?" Quarterly Journal of Economics 112:291.

Carneval, AP, and SJ Rose. 1998. Education for What? The new office economy. report Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

Freeman, RB. 1976. The Overeducated American. New York: Academic Press.

Other:

Autor, D, L Katz, and AB Krueger. 1997. Computing Inequality: Have Computers Changed the Labor Market? report #5956 New York: National Bureau of Economic Research.

Mishel, L, J Bernstein, and J Schmitt. 1997. Did technology have any effect on the growth of wage inequality in the 1980s and 1990s? report Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.

Howell, D, M Duncan, and B Harrison. 1998. Low Wages in the U.S. and High Unemployment in Europe: A Critical Assesment of the Conventional Wisdom. report # CEPA Working Paper No. 5 New York: New School for Social Research.

Economic Restructuring

Industrial Shifts - Deindustrialization

October 26

Required:

Meisenheimer II, JR. 1998. "The services industry in the 'good' versus 'bad' job debate." Monthly Labor Review :22-47.

Bernard, AB, and JB Jensen. 1998. Understanding increasing and decreasing wage inequality. report #6571 : National Bureau of Economic Research.

Burgstaller, A. 1987. "Industrialization, deindustrialization, and North-South trade." American Economic Review 77:1017-1018.

Supplemental:

Costrell, RM. 1988. The Effects of Industry Employment Shifts on Wage Growth, 1947-1987. report Washington, DC: U.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committee.

Kutscher, RE. 1986. "Deindustrialization and the Shift to Services." Monthly Labor Review 109:3-13.

Carlino, GA. 1989. "What Can Output Measures Tell Us About Deindustrialization in the Nation and Its Regions?" Business Review (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia) Jan/Feb:15-27.

Mishel, L. 1989. "The late great debate on deindustrialization." Challenge 32:35-43.

Other:

Rodwin, L, and H Sazanami (Eds.). 1989. Deindustrialization and Regional Economic Transformation: The Experience of the United States. London: HarperCollins Academic.

Rodwin, L, and H Sazanami (Eds.). 1991. Industrial Change and Regional Economic Transformation: The Experience of Western Europe. London: HarperCollins Academic.

Blackburn, ML, DE Bloom, and RB Freeman. 1990. "The declining economic position of less skilled American Men." Pp. 31-76 in A Future of Lousy Jobs?, edited by G Burtless. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

Employment Relations

November 2

Required: Useem, M, and P Capelli. 1997. "The pressures to restructure employment." Pp. chapter 1 in Change at Work, edited by P Cappelli, L Bassi, H Katz, D Knoke, P Osterman, and M Useem. New York: Oxford University Press.

Supplemental:

Abraham, K. 1990. "Restructuring the employment relationship: thegrowth of market-mediated work arrangements." Pp. 85-118 in New Developments in the Labor Market. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Belous, RS. 1989. The Contingent Economy. Washington, DC: National Planning Association.

Katz, H. 1997. "Downsizing and Employment Insecurity." Pp. chapter 2 in Change at Work, edited by P Cappelli, L Bassi, H Katz, D Knoke, P Osterman, and M Useem. New York: Oxford University Press.

Polivka, AE. 1996. "Contingent and alternative work arrangements, defined." Monthly Labor Review 119:3-9.

Other:

Doeringer, PB, and MJ Piore. 1971. "The theory of internal labor markets." Pp. 13-92 in Internal labor markets and manpower analysis. Lexington, Mass: Heath.

Baron, JN, FR Dobbins, and PD Jennings. 1986. "War and Peace: the evolution of modern personnel administration in US industry." American Journal of Sociology 92:350-83.

Polivka, AE. 1996. "A profile of contingent workers." Monthly Labor Review 119:10-21.

Political and Institutional Context

Unions

November 9

Required:

Freeman, RB. 1993. "How much has de-unionization contributed to the rise in male earnings inequality." Pp. 133-163 in Uneven Tides: Rising Inequality in America, edited by S Danziger and P Gottschalk. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Jacoby, SM. 1990. "Norms and Cycles: The Dynamics of Nonunion Industrial Relations in the United States, 1897-1987." Pp. 19-56 in New Developments in the Labor Market, edited by KG Abraham and RB McKersie. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Supplemental:

Dinardo, J, and T Lemieux. 1996. "Diverging male wage inequality in the United States and Canada, 1981-1988: Do Institutions explain the difference." Industrial and Labor Relations Review 50:629-651.

Kuhn, P, and A Sweetman. 1998. "Wage loss following displacement: The role of union coverage." Industrial and Labor Relations Review 51:384-399.

Minimum Wage

November 16

Required: Chapter 1 from Card, D, and AB Krueger. 1995. Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Supplemental:

Chapters 2-12 from Card, D, and AB Krueger. 1995. Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Other:

Mellor, EF. 1987. "Workers at the Minimum Wage or Less : Who They Are and the Jobs They Hold." Monthly Labor Review 110:34-8.

Martin, LR. 1990. "Would a Higher Minimum Wage Help Poor Families Headed by Women?" Monthly Labor Review 113:33-37.

Smith, RE. 1992. "The Wage Mobility of Minimum Wage Workers." Industrial & Labor Relations Review 46:82-88.

Klein, BW. 1992. "Real Estimates of Poor Minimum Wage Workers." Challenge 35:53-5.

Neumark, D, and W Wascher. 1992. "Employment Effects of Minimum and Subminimum Wages : Panel Data on State Minimum Wage Laws." Industrial & Labor Relations Review 46:55-81.

Card, D, L Katz, and A Krueger. 1994. "Comment on David Neumark and William Wascher, "Employment Effects of Minimum and Subminimum Wages : Panel Data on State Minimum Wage Laws"." Industrial & Labor Relations Review 47:487-497.

Neumark, D, and W Wascher. 1994. "Employment effects of minimum and subminimum wages : Reply to Card, Katz, and Krueger." Industrial & Labor Relations Review 47:497-512.

Fortin, N, Lemieux, and J DiNardo. 1996. "Labor market institutions and the distribution of wages, 1973-1992 : A semiparametric approach." Econometrica 64:1001-14.

Neumark, D, and W Wascher. 1998. Minimum wages and training revisited. report #6651 : National Bureau of Economic Research.

Nordlund, WJ. 1997. The Quest for a Living Wage: The History of the Federal Minimum Wage Program. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Trade

November 23

Required: Wood, A. 1995. "How Trade Hurt Unskilled Workers." Journal of Economic Perspectives 9:57.

Supplemental:

Revenga, A. 1997. "Employment and Wage Effects of Trade Liberalization: The Case of Mexican Manufacturing." Journal of Labor Economics 15:20.

Lawrence, RZ, and M Slaughter. 1993. "International Trade and american wages in the 1980's: great sucking sound or small hiccup?" Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: Microeconomics 2:161-226.

Lovely, ME, and JD Richardson. 1998. Trade flows and wage premiums: Does who or what matter? report #6668 : National Bureau of Economic Research.

Current Trends

November 30

Required:

Bernstein, J, and L Mishel. 1997. "Has wage inequality stopped growing?" Monthly Labor Review :3-16.

Lerman, RI. 1997. "Reassessing trends in US earnings inequality." Monthly Labor Review :17-25.

Life-Cycle impact

December 7

Required: Bernhardt, A, M Morris, M Handcock, and M Scott. 1998. "Inequality and Mobility: Trends in wage growth for young adults." American Journal of Sociology under review.

Supplemental:

Duncan, G, J Boisjoly, and T Smeeding. 1996. "Economic Mobility of Young Workers in the 1970s and 1980s." Demography 33:497-509.

Farber, HS. 1993. "The Incidence and Costs of Job Loss: 1982-91." Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 1:73-132.