[...]This paper is an interim report on continuingwork that we began in 1988. Our earlier research on thecauses of wage structure changes in the 1980s (Bound andJohnson 1992) showed that part of explanation A (theslowdown in the growth rate of that fraction of the workforce with high levels of...

United States wage performance has been disquieting.Between 1979 and 1993, realhourly compensation rose by just 5.5 percent.This poor average wage performancehas been associated with a dramatic increase in the dispersionof earnings: both in the returns to general characteristicssuch as...

[...]I will describe the dilemma by first reviewing thecontext of stagnant wages and living standards. I will thensummarize some of the trends—political and demographic—that economic angst has accelerated. Finally, I will examine the future path of the education/earningsgap in the short run,...