Occupational Tasks and Changes in the Wage Structure

This paper argues that changes in the returns to occupational tasks have contributed tochanges in the wage distribution over the last three decades. Using Current PopulationSurvey (CPS) data, we first show that the 1990s polarization of wages is explained bychanges in wage setting between and within occupations, which are well captured by tasksmeasures linked to technological change and offshorability. Using a decomposition based onFirpo, Fortin, and Lemieux (2009), we find that technological change and deunionizationplayed a central role in the 1980s and 1990s, while offshorability became an important factorfrom the 1990s onwards....