Has job polarisation squeezed the American middle class?

By:	Michael Boehm
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepcnp:400&r=ltv
Job polarisation has had strong effects on US workers’ relative wages, according to research by Michael Boehm. His study examines whether the decline in manufacturing and clerical jobs has been responsible for the lagging wages of middle-skill workers in the United States. Comparing the occupational choices and earnings of survey respondents in the 1980s and today, he shows that labour market returns to middle-skill jobs have declined relative to high- and low-skill jobs.
Keywords:	Job polarization, wage inequality, talent allocation, Roy model
JEL:	J21 J23 J24 J31