Finis Welch

Despite the economic boom of the 1990s, the gap between the wealthy and the poor in the United States is growing larger. While ample evidence exists to validate perceived trends in wage, income, and overall wealth disparity, there is little agreement on the causes of such inequality and what might be done to alleviate it. This volume draws together a panel of distinguished scholars who address these issues in terms comprehensible to noneconomists. Their findings are surprising, suggesting that factors such as trade imbalances, immigration rates, and differences in educational resources do not account for recent increases in the inequality of wealth and earnings. Rather, the contributors maintain that these discrepancies can be attributed to workplace demand for high-skilled labor. They also insist that further research must examine the organization of industry in order to better understand the concurrent devaluation of manual labor. Addressing a topic that is of considerable public interest, this collection helps move the issue of increasing economic inequality in America to the center of the public policy arena. Contributors: Donald R. Deere, Claudia Goldin, Lawrence F. Katz, James P. Smith, Franco Peracchi, Gary Solon, Eric A. Hanushek, Julie A. Somers, Marvin H. Kosters, William Cline, Finis Welch, Angus Deaton, Charles Murray, Kevin Murphy

The Causes and Consequences of Increasing Inequality

Stephen Machin

Ludger Woessmann

Eric A. Hanushek

F. Welch

Vol. 4/edited by Eric A. Hanushek, Stephen Machin, Ludger Woessmann. What is the value of an education? Volume 4 combines recent data with new methodologies to examine this and related questions from diverse perspectives. School choice and school competition, educator incentives, the college premium, and other considerations help make sense of the investments and returns associated with education.

Handbook of the Economics of Education

Eric Alan Hanushek

The Handbooks in Economics series continues to provide the various branches of economics with handbooks which are definitive reference sources, suitable for use by professional researchers, advanced graduate students, or by those seeking a teaching supplement. With contributions from leading researchers, each Handbook presents an accurate, self-contained survey of the current state of the topic under examination. These surveys summarize the most recent discussions in journals, and elucidate new developments. Although original material is also included, the main aim of this series is the provision of comprehensive and accessible surveys *Every volume contains contributions from leading researchers *Each Handbook presents an accurate, self-contained survey of a particular topic *The series provides comprehensive and accessible surveys

Finis Welch

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