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Politics & Society
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U.S. Wage Inequality, Technological Change, and Decline in Union Power

James S. Mosher

Ohio University

Wage inequality, including the college/high school education premium, has increased substantially in the United States. A key part of the most widely accepted explanation for this is that skill-biased technological change accelerated during this time. This article suggests that the impact of skill-biased technological change was closer to constant in the second half of the twentieth century. This leaves a large unexplained decrease in the college/high school education premium in the 1940s and a large unexplained increase in the 1980s. The current article provides evidence that the upsurge and decline in union power during those respective periods provide a good explanation for these unexplained wage inequality changes.

Key Words: inequality • unions • technological change • skill bias • social democracy

Politics & Society, Vol. 35, No. 2, 225-263 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0032329207300394
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