Who's Not Working and Why

Presenting an alternative view of the operations of the labour market, Professors Frederic Pryor and David Schaffer explain the growing inequality in wages over the last quarter-century and how those with the least education are being squeezed out of the labour market. Why have wages in those jobs requiring extra-high cognitive skills risen while all other wages have stagnated or fallen? And why are more university graduates taking high-school jobs? The authors of this volume present data revealing that jobs which require a high educational level are increasing more slowly than those with somewhat lower requirements. However such jobs are increasing faster than those requiring still less formal education. Professors Pryor and Schaffer also show how women are replacing men in jobs which require higher levels of education and moreover, how those with high cognitive skills are replacing those with lower cognitive skills.