Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/30047 
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
Kiel Working Paper No. 1588
Publisher: 
Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), Kiel
Abstract: 
This paper sheds light on how changes in the organization of work lead to wage inequality. We present a theoretical model in which workers with a wider span of competence (higher level of multitasking) earn a wage premium. Since abilities and opportunities to expand the span of competence are distributed unequally among workers across and within education groups, our theory explains (1) rising wage inequality between groups, (2) rising wage inequality within groups, and (3) the polarization of work and the decoupling of the income distribution. Using a rich German data set covering a 20-year period from 1986 to 2006, we provide empirical support for our model.
Subjects: 
Wage inequality
tasks
multitasking
organizational change
JEL: 
J31
J24
L23
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
350.71 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.