This book examines what people are paid and how pay differences have changed over time. The author presents new theories that challenge current thinking on the impact of education, technology, globalization and the rigidity of labour markets. Beginning with an accessible introduction, it then provides a model and new empirical data for 20 countries

Sir Tony Atkinson has been Warden of Nuffield College, Oxford, from 1994 to 2005. He was previously Tooke Professor at the London School of Economics, and founder Editor of the Journal of Public Economics. He has previously been President of the Econometric Society, of the European Economic Association, the Royal Economic Society, and the International Economic Association.

• Part I: The Lecture


• 1: Introduction


• 2: The race between technology and education- the textbook model


• 3: Taking data seriously - where the data come from and how we should use them


• 4: The changes in dispersion since 1980


• 5: Recent history in full - was there a lull before the storm?


• 6: A longer-run view of the earnings distribution - the Great Compression and the Golden Age


• 7: What we are seeking to explain


• 8: A behavioural model of change in pay differentials - the "fanning out" at the top of the earnings distribution


• 9: Superstars and pyramids - two complementary explanations for changes in top earnings


• 10: Conclusions


• Part II Details of the Models


• Note 1 The dynamics of supply and demand


• Note 2 A behavioural model of changing pay norms


• Note 3 Superstars and pyramids


• Part III New Empirical Evidence for 20 OECD Countries


• Introduction to Part III


• A: Australia


• B: Austria


• C: Canada


• D: Czech Republic


• E: Denmark


• F: Finland


• G: France


• H: Germany


• I: Hungary


• J: Ireland


• K: Italy


• L: Netherlands


• M: New Zealand


• N: Norway


• O: Poland


• P: Portugal


• Q: Sweden


• R: Switzerland


• S: United Kingdom


• T: United States