Wage Polarization in the U.S. and the “Flexibility” Debate
Author(s)
Harrison, Bennett; Bluestone, Barry
Abstract
In the 1980s, the rapid rise of income inequality led to debate about the nature and the causes of the new trends. The authors of this article were among the initiators of that debate, maintaining that the American economy had taken a “great U-turn” and that the middle-income population was now shrinking, leading to increased polarization between rich and poor. The article summarized here reviews the evidence for wage polarization in the 1980s and argues that rising inequality was caused by a change in management strategy that reshaped labor relations.
