Growing Apart

The Causes and Consequences of Global Wage Inequality

Book by Albert Fishlow, Editor and Karen E. Feld, Editor

October 1, 1999

Order Print Copy
Book
Foreign policy analyses written by CFR fellows and published by the trade presses, academic presses, or the Council on Foreign Relations Press.

Read an excerpt of Growing Apart.

Is globalization a major contributor to increasing wage inequality? Growing Apart: The Causes and Consequences of Global Wage Inequality says it is not. Economists Albert Fishlow and Karen Parker show that there is no simple link between the forces of globalization and increased wage inequality, either in the United States or in several other countries. Several interrelated market integration developments--expanded trade and foreign investment, more rapid technology diffusion, and changes in labor market structure--all influence wages.

More on:

Inequality

Labor and Employment

As a consequence, the book's authors claim, the correct conclusion is not to restrict international trade and the flow of service activity. They cite evidence that shows how expanded trade and competition at the global level raises living standards and creates more high-wage jobs. The real requirement, they say, is to help all workers adjust through better initial education, as well as by offering subsequent re-training possibilities.

A Council on Foreign Relations Book

More on:

Inequality

Labor and Employment

Explore More on Inequality

Inequality

The U.S. Inequality Debate

Public policy experts call income and wealth inequality one of the defining challenges of this century. Recent crises have accelerated these divisions, and the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened them further.   

Backgrounder by Anshu Siripurapu April 20, 2022 Renewing America

Race and Ethnicity

“Viral Convergence”: Interconnected Pandemics as Portal to Racial Justice
In this piece (which is part of a special Just Security “Racing National Security” symposium), Catherine Powell argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has provided a window into the pandemics of policing, poverty, and racism around the globe. National security observers need to broaden the lens for analysis beyond military security—and what Trump today (and Nixon in the 1970s) opportunistically calls “law and order”—to encompass economic, physical, and human security.

Blog Post by Catherine Powell August 5, 2020 Women Around the World

China

China's Retrograde Rural Land Policies
Despite rhetoric to the contrary, rural land reform is a perennial problem for the Chinese government.

Blog Post by Guest Blogger for Asia Unbound August 5, 2020 Asia Unbound

Top Stories on CFR

China

China’s Underground Historians, With Ian Johnson

Podcast
Ian Johnson, the Stephen A. Schwarzman senior fellow for China studies at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how Chinese filmmakers, journalists, and artists are challenging the Chinese Communist Party’s version of history. 

Podcast with James M. Lindsay and Ian Johnson September 26, 2023 The President’s Inbox

Climate Change

Could Climate Change Break Home Insurance?

Podcast
For decades, U.S. homeowners have counted on property insurance to protect them from catastrophic loss if their homes are destroyed—and the U.S. economy has rested on the functionality of that model. But as this summer’s extreme weather broke records, private companies reduced their coverage. As climate disasters become more frequent, can home insurance hold up?

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra, Nancy Watkins and David Marlett September 27, 2023 Why It Matters

Ukraine

What Ukraine Needs to Win the War Against Russia
If Western allies fail to send Ukraine the weapons it needs, the odds increase of the war dragging on indefinitely, at a terrible cost to both Ukraine and Russia and a growing risk to the wider world.

In Brief by Max Boot September 27, 2023