Job Polarization and Structural Change

Christian Siegel and Zsofia Barany ()

VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy from Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association

Abstract: Job polarization is a widely documented phenomenon in developed countries since the 1980s: employment has been shifting from middle to low- and high-income workers, while average wage growth has been slower for middle-income workers than at both extremes. We document 1) that polarization has started as early as the 1950s in the US, and 2) that this process is closely linked to the shift from manufacturing to services. Based on these observations we propose a structural change driven explanation for polarization. Productivity growth through raising national income leads to a partial marketization of home production, and a disproportionate increase in the demand for high-end (luxury) services. To attract more workers into the low- and high-skilled services, the wages in these two sectors have to grow at a faster pace than in the middle.

JEL-codes: E24 J22 O41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mac
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Job Polarization and Structural Change (2018)
Working Paper: Job Polarization and Structural Change (2018)
Working Paper: Job Polarization and Structural Change (2018)
Working Paper: Job polarization and structural change (2016)
Working Paper: Job Polarization and Structural Change (2015)
Working Paper: Job Polarization and Structural Change (2015)
Working Paper: Job Polarization and Structural Change (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100308

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