Date of Award

8-6-2024

Author's School

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Author's Department

Economics

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Type

Dissertation

Abstract

This thesis explores the intricate relationships between macroeconomic forces and economic inequality through two distinct but interconnected lenses. Chapter 1 examines how heightened import competition, a key aspect of globalization, reshapes the occupational structure in the U.S., highlighting the adverse effects of import competition on employment across different occupations, especially those with low and middle wages. Employing industry-level trade and technology measures to assess the impacts on eleven finely defined occupational groups, this chapter reveals that import competition serves as a significant yet often overlooked driver of job polarization and the decline of middle-skill occupations, contrasting with the polarization literature which emphasizes technological advancements as the single important factor. Furthermore, this chapter demonstrates that the influence of labor-saving technologies extends beyond middle-wage occupations to high-wage occupations as well, challenging the prevalent view that these technologies primarily target routine jobs—often middle-wage occupations. Remarkably, high-wage occupations continue to grow robustly despite the negative impact of labor-saving technologies, driven by the expansion of industries that rely heavily on high-skill labor inputs. Chapter 2 shifts the focus to the macroeconomic implications of household wealth dynamics, exploring how fluctuations in wealth influence consumption patterns, known as wealth effects, and linking these effects to household wealth inequality. This analysis uses the sustainable consumption framework and utilizes household level data to examine the temporal and demographic variances in wealth effects. It underscores the significant role of households’ expected rates of returns on their housing and financial assets in shaping how their wealth affects their sustainable consumption over time. This chapter highlights how differing expectations during various periods result in different wealth effects, especially how changes in households’ outlook in housing prices influenced wealth effects during Great Recession. It also emphasizes that household wealth is closely linked to expectations about the rates of returns on their assets, explaining the disparity in wealth effects across households of different demographics due to their relative position in the wealth distribution in the United States. Linking the themes of both chapters under the broader umbrella of inequality, this thesis argues that understanding import competition and wealth distribution is crucial for grasping the full scope of economic inequality. It advocates for a more comprehensive approach to policymaking that aims to reduce economic disparities across various socioeconomic groups.

Language

English (en)

Chair and Committee

Steven Fazzari

Committee Members

Andrew Reeves; Bruce Petersen; Gaetano Antinolfi; John Nachbar

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