A leading explanation for the rapid growth in U.S. wage inequality in the last twenty years, consistent with both human capital and postindustrial theories, is that advanced technology has increased job skill requirements and reduced the demand for less-skilled workers. Krueger's study (1993)...

It is commonly assumed that jobs in the United States require ever greater levels of skill and, more strongly, that this trend is accelerating as a result of the diffusion of information technology. This has led to substantial concern over the possibility of a growing mismatch between the skills...

Employing original, representative survey data, we document that cognitive, interpersonal and physical job task demands can be measured with high validity using standard interview techniques. Job tasks vary substantially within and between occupations, are significantly related to workers'...

During the 1980s, wage inequality increased dramatically and the American economy lost many high wage, low- to medium-skill jobs, which had provided middle class incomes to less skilled workers. Increasingly, less skilled workers seemed restricted to low wage jobs lacking union or other...

The study of work and employment in the 1970s was shaped by a widely-cited report taking stock of the current workplace and proposing broad changes (Work in America [HEW 1973]). In this chapter we review research on how employee involvement practices affect job quality and assess the extent to...

This report examines skill trends in 24 OECD countries over the past several decades. The skill measures used include broad occupation groups, country-specific direct measures of skill requirements from international surveys, and direct skill measures from the Occupational Information Network...