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Title: Supply, Demand, and Minimum Wage: Unraveling U.S. Wage Inequality from 1963-2021

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2023

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Abstract: From 1963 to 2021, the U.S. evolved from a manual to a knowledge-based economy, intensifying the wage gap between skilled and unskilled workers. Using the CPS ASEC supplements and building on Autor, Katz, and Kearney (2008), this study contrasts two perspectives: the traditionalist view, associating rising inequality with increased demand for skilled labor, and the revisionist view, which sees it as a one-off event due to declining real minimum wage. Analyzing 90-10 inequality, left-tail (50-10) vs. right-tail (90-50) inequality, and college vs. high-school wage premiums, findings suggest a secular rise in inequality driven by technological innovation and demand for skilled workers from 1963 to 2005. However, from 2005 to 2021, the revisionist claim finds merit, as state-level minimum wage adjustments affect the left tail. This highlights the complex dynamics of wage inequality over this period.

Url: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_pubs/818Discoveradditionalworksat:https://academicworks.cuny.edu

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Authors: Frolov, Daniil

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Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS CPS

Topics: Education, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Work, Family, and Time

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