Overview

""The go-to guy on minimum wage"" (Nobel Laureate and New York Times bestselling author Paul Krugman) tackles one of the thorniest social issues of our times-income inequality-from a new vantage point with field-leading economics. How did the labor market stop working for so many in the workforce? Why did wages at the bottom and in the middle of the pay scale fail to keep up with a growing economy that delivered over 70 percent productivity gains and soaring incomes for those at the top? What caused this divergence, and what can we do about it now? The Wage Standard is a deep dive into these very questions-questions Arin Dube has explored in over two decades of influential research. Painting a new picture with data, Dube shows us how wages for most workers became painfully frozen. But also, he argues, this fate was not inevitable, and more importantly, that it can be reversed. The Wage Standard lays bare how the labor market really works, revealing levers to pull to shift course- to reshape corporate decisions, rethink policy priorities, and rebalance economic power and social norms to better protect the typical worker. These are the keys to unlocking broad-based prosperity. Dube delivers a hopeful message. First, chances are, you deserve a raise. And second, it's not necessary to fix the broken politics of Washington, DC, in order to get one. Political will, public engagement, and persistence can set a new standard to reset the labor market and improve the lives of American workers starting today. In fact, signs of progress are already offering a glimpse of what a fairer economy can and will look like.

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9780593471418

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Reviews

""Inequality is the scourge of our contemporary world. This powerful book shows that its emergence was not inevitable, rather we allowed it to happen. The exciting implication is that we have the power to eliminate it.""—James A. Robinson, Winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences and New York Times bestselling co-author of Why Nations Fail ""Wage suppression and the destruction of workers' bargaining power lie behind nearly all of our social and cultural crises. In his lucidly written and richly researched new book, Arin Dube offers not only an acute diagnosis, but also a practical and humane pathway out of it. The Wage Standard is essential for reformers and working people.""—Sohrab Ahmari, author of Tyranny, Inc. “Arindrajit Dube’s The Wage Standard is a deeply insightful analysis of how America’s labor market went off course—why rising productivity has not translated into rising wages for most Americans. Blending rigorous evidence with uncommon clarity, Dube shows that stagnant wages are not inevitable but the result of choices we made and can change. This is essential reading for anyone who believes a fairer economy is both possible and within reach.”—Janet L. Yellen, 78th Secretary of the Treasury and former Chair of the Federal Reserve

""Inequality is the scourge of our contemporary world. This powerful book shows that its emergence was not inevitable, rather we allowed it to happen. The exciting implication is that we have the power to eliminate it.""—James A. Robinson, Winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences and New York Times bestselling co-author of Why Nations Fail “Arindrajit Dube’s The Wage Standard is a deeply insightful analysis of how America’s labor market went off course—why rising productivity has not translated into rising wages for most Americans. Blending rigorous evidence with uncommon clarity, Dube shows that stagnant wages are not inevitable but the result of choices we made and can change. This is essential reading for anyone who believes a fairer economy is both possible and within reach.”—Janet L. Yellen, 78th Secretary of the Treasury and former Chair of the Federal Reserve “Since 1980, wage growth has lagged productivity, pay inequality has exploded, wage differences between firms have widened, and many studies have shown that increases in minimum wages have little or no effect on employment. In this remarkable book, Arin Dube argues that all four of these facts – and many other anomalies in the US labor market – are connected by the erosion of the “pay standards” that drive company pay policies. Building on his own path-breaking work, he tells the story of this erosion and discusses policies to reverse the trend, including minimum wages and growth-centered macro policy. A must-read for anyone who has despaired over the fate of the American labor market.”—David E. Card, Winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences ""Wage suppression and the destruction of workers' bargaining power lie behind nearly all of our social and cultural crises. In his lucidly written and richly researched new book, Arin Dube offers not only an acute diagnosis, but also a practical and humane pathway out of it. The Wage Standard is essential for reformers and working people.""—Sohrab Ahmari, author of Tyranny, Inc. ""If you feel like you're underpaid—you're probably right. Arin Dube shows us why. In The Wage Standard, one of today’s leading labor economists explains how the market left working people behind—and how we can finally catch up. A must-read for anyone who works for a living.""—Congressman Ro Khanna, author of Dignity in a Digital Age “This is a must-read for anyone hoping to understand why wages for working people haven’t kept pace with economic growth. Unions and collective bargaining paved the way for record levels of shared prosperity in this country, where wages and productivity grew together. Professor Dube shows how attacks on unions, and declining union membership, have reversed those gains: leading to lower wages for workers, more profits going to corporate executives, and growing income inequality. He also offers hope for a future where the economic choices we make as a society can rebuild a wage structure that assures workers get a fair share. Unions and collective bargaining are powerful tools in his vision and organized labor can move us to a better, fairer future where we can assure prosperity for all Americans.”—Elizabeth H. Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO

Author Information

ARINDRAJIT (ARIN) DUBE is Provost Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and research fellow at the Institute for Labor in Germany. He has testified before Congress, consulted with the UK government, provided counsel to many state legislatures, and is invited to speak about his research around the world. Dube publishes consistently in top economics journals, such as the Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review, Review of Economics and Statistics, and American Economic Journal. He has written opinion pieces for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and has been interviewed extensively on radio and television programs, including NPR, MSNBC, CNBC, and Bloomberg TV.

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