Rising wage inequality, comparative advantage, and the growing importance of general skills in the United States

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gould, ED
• 署名单位: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/323934
• 发表日期: 2002
• 页码: 105-147
• 关键词: sample selection; self-selection; earnings; demand; MODEL; explanations; LABOR

摘要

This study uses a model of comparative advantage to model the choice of workers into three broad occupations. The pursuit of comparative advantage is shown to reduce the level of inequality from what would occur in a random assignment of workers into occupations. However, after pricing the skills of workers separately within occupations, the results indicate that the sectors are becoming more similar in the way that they value workers' skills, thus reducing the importance of comparative advantage over time. Inequality is rising as the economy is increasingly characterized by the pursuit of absolute advantage rather than comparative advantage.