Rising Top, Falling Bottom: Industries and Rising Wage Inequality
John Haltiwanger, Henry R. Hyatt, James R. Spletzer
American Economic Review · 2024 · Volume 114 · Issue 10
Abstract
Most of the rise in overall earnings inequality from 1996 to 2018 is accounted for by rising between-industry dispersion. The contribution of industries is right-skewed with the top 10 percent of four-digit NAICS industries dominating. The top 10 percent are clustered in high-paying high-tech and low-paying retail sectors. In the top industries, high-wage workers are increasingly sorted to high-wage industries with rising industry premia. In the bottom industries, low-wage workers are increasingly sorted into low-wage industries, with rising employment and falling industry wage premia.
Keywords
Labor Demand, Human Capital, Skills, Occupational Choice, Labor Productivity, Wage Level and Structure, Wage Differentials, Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope, Personnel Economics: Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects
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