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Job Polarization and Structural Change

Author

Listed:
  • Zsofia Barany

    (ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Christian Siegel

    (University of Kent [Canterbury])

Abstract

We document that job polarization—contrary to the consensus—has started as early as the 1950s in the United States: middle-wage workers have been losing both in terms of employment and average wage growth compared to low- and high-wage workers. Given that polarization is a long-run phenomenon and closely linked to the shift from manufacturing to services, we propose a structural change driven explanation, where we explicitly model the sectoral choice of workers. Our simple model does remarkably well not only in matching the evolution of sectoral employment, but also of relative wages over the past 50 years.

Suggested Citation

  • Zsofia Barany & Christian Siegel, 2018. "Job Polarization and Structural Change," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03391941, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:spmain:hal-03391941
    DOI: 10.1257/mac.20150258
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-03391941
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Job Polarization; Structural Change; Roy Model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models

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