Abstract
Growing income and wage inequality in a range of countries has raised concern. High-technology development may be contributing to this inequality, by encouraging higher wages at the upper end of the income distribution. Most studies of the possibility of this effect have used generic, aggregated data. In this paper, we introduce the possibility of linking wage inequality directly to specific industrial strategies using the Theil Index of inequality. This measure portrays the portion of wage inequality that is attributable to wages in specific industries. We illustrate this concept with data from U.S. states.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
BARRO, R. J. (1999), Inequality, Growth, and Investment. National Bureau of Economic Research. Working Paper 7038.
BERMAN, E., J. BOUND, Z. GRILICHES (1994), Changes in the demand for skilled labor: Evidence from the Annual Survey of Manufacturing. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 109: 367-398.
BERNARD, A. B., J. B. JENSEN (1998), Understanding Increasing and Decreasing Wage Inequality. NBER Working Paper 6571.
BERNSTEIN, J., H. BOUSHEY, E. MCNICHOL, R. ZAHRADNIK (2002) Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends. Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorties, Economic Policy Institute.
BHATTA, S. D. (2001) Are inequality and poverty harmful for economic growth: Evidence from the Metropolitan Areas of the United States. Journal of Urban Affairs, 23 (3-4): 335-359.
BISHOP, J., J. FORMBY, P. THISTLe (1992), Explaining interstate variation in income inequality, Review of Economics and Statistics, 74 (3): 553-557.
BORJAS, G., V. RAMEY (1994), Time series evidence on the source of trends in wage inequality. American Economic Review, 84 (May): 10-16.
BORJAS, G., V. RAMEY (1995), Foreign competition, market power, and wage inequality. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 110 (4): 1075-1110.
BOUND, J., G. JOHNSON (1992), Changes in the structure of wages during the 1980s: An evaluation of alternative explanations. American Economic Review, 82: 371-392.
CONCEIÇÃO, P., J. K. GAILBRAITH (1999), Constructing Long and Dense Time-Series of Inequality using the Theil Index. Austin, Texas, University of Texas, Austin.
CONCEIÇÃO, P., P. FERREIRA (2000), The Young Person's Guide to the Theil Index: Suggesting Intuitive Interpretations and Exploring Analytical Applications. Austin, Texas, University of Texas, Austin.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE (1998), Estimates of Federal Tax Liabilities for Individuals and Families by Income Category and Family Type for 1995 and 1999. Memorandum.
CONLISK, J. (1967) Some cross-state evidence on income inequality. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 49 (1): 115-118.
DANZIGER, S., P. GOTTSCHALK (Eds). Uneven Tides: Rising Inequality in America. New York: Russell Sage, 1993.
DINARDO, J., N. M. FORTIN, T. LeMIEUX (1996) Labor market institutions and the distribution of wages, 1973-1992: a semiparametric approach, Econometrica, 65: 1001-1044.
FORTIN, N. M., T. LeMIEUX (1997) Institutional changes and the rising wage inequality: Is there a linkage? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11 (2): 75-96.
GALBRAITH, J. K. (1998), Created Unequal: The Crisis in American Pay. NY: The Free Press.
GALBRAITH, J. K., M. BERNER (2001), Inequality and Industrial Change: A Global View. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
GOSS, E., J. PHILLIPS (1997), The effect of state economic development spending on state income and employment growth. Economic Development Quarterly, 11 (1): 88-96.
HECKER, D. (1999), High-technology employment: a broader view. Monthly Labor Review, (June): 18-28.
KUZNETS, S. (1955) Economic growth and income inequality. American Economic Review, 45 (1): 1-28.
LeIGH, N. G. (1995), Income inequality and economic development. Economic Development Quarterly, 9 (1): 94-103.
RAHM, D., T. LUCE (1992), Issues in the design of state science and technology-based economic development programs. Economic Development Quarterly, 6 (1): 41-51.
SOLIMANO, A., E. ANINAT, N. BIRDSALL (Eds) (2000), Distributive Justice and Economic Development: The Case of Chile and Developing Countries, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
TOPEL, R. (1993), Regional labor markets and the determinants of wage inequality. American Economic Review, 83 (May): 110-115.
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU (1999), Historical Income Tables. Families. Source: March Current Population Survey. www.census.gove/hhes/income/historic/f03.html
WEINBERG, D. (1996), A Brief Look at Postwar U.S. Income Inequality. Current Population Reports. Washington, D.C.: Census Bureau.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cozzens, S.E., Bobb, K. Measuring the relationship between high technology development strategies and wage inequality. Scientometrics 58, 351–368 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026292711921
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026292711921