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  3. American Economic Review
  4. October 2024
  5. Rising Top, Falling Bottom: Industries and Rising Wage Inequality

American Economic Review

ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)

Rising Top, Falling Bottom: Industries and Rising Wage Inequality

  • John Haltiwanger
  • Henry R. Hyatt
  • James R. Spletzer
American Economic Review
vol. 114, no. 10, October 2024
(pp. 3250–83)
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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.

Citation

Haltiwanger, John, Henry R. Hyatt, and James R. Spletzer. 2024. "Rising Top, Falling Bottom: Industries and Rising Wage Inequality." American Economic Review, 114 (10): 3250–83. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20221574

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • J23 Labor Demand
  • J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
  • J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
  • L25 Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope
  • M52 Personnel Economics: Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects