The Wage Standard

“The slowdown of the income growth of working people in the United States is one of the most striking and consequential events of the last half century (just think of all the discontent and political turmoil that have followed it). The Wage Standard makes a powerful argument that the main culprit is the growing power of corporations and the weakening of labor market institutions and norms that enable workers to get a fair share of improvements in productivity and profits. With clear and convincing prose, the book shows how the US labor market looks nothing like the competitive benchmark many people assume, and how this is tightly interwoven with inequality.”—Daron Acemoglu, Winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences and New York Times bestselling co-author of Why Nations Fail

“Inequality is the scourge of our contemporary world. This powerful book shows that its emergence was not inevitable, rather we allowed it to happen. The exciting implication is that we have the power to eliminate it.”—James A. Robinson, Winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences and New York Times bestselling co-author of Why Nations Fail

“Arindrajit Dube’s The Wage Standard is a deeply insightful analysis of how America’s labor market went off course—why rising productivity has not translated into rising wages for most Americans. Blending rigorous evidence with uncommon clarity, Dube shows that stagnant wages are not inevitable but the result of choices we made and can change. This is essential reading for anyone who believes a fairer economy is both possible and within reach.”—Janet L. Yellen, 78th Secretary of the Treasury and former Chair of the Federal Reserve

“Since 1980, wage growth has lagged productivity, pay inequality has exploded, wage differences between firms have widened, and many studies have shown that increases in minimum wages have little or no effect on employment. In this remarkable book, Arin Dube argues that all four of these facts – and many other anomalies in the US labor market – are connected by the erosion of the “pay standards” that drive company pay policies. Building on his own path-breaking work, he tells the story of this erosion and discusses policies to reverse the trend, including minimum wages and growth-centered macro policy. A must-read for anyone who has despaired over the fate of the American labor market.”—David E. Card, Winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences

“Wage suppression and the destruction of workers’ bargaining power lie behind nearly all of our social and cultural crises. In his lucidly written and richly researched new book, Arin Dube offers not only an acute diagnosis, but also a practical and humane pathway out of it. The Wage Standard is essential for reformers and working people.”—Sohrab Ahmari, author of Tyranny, Inc.

“If you feel like you’re underpaid—you’re probably right. Arin Dube shows us why. In The Wage Standard, one of today’s leading labor economists explains how the market left working people behind—and how we can finally catch up. A must-read for anyone who works for a living.”—Congressman Ro Khanna, author of Dignity in a Digital Age

“This is a must-read for anyone hoping to understand why wages for working people haven’t kept pace with economic growth. Unions and collective bargaining paved the way for record levels of shared prosperity in this country, where wages and productivity grew together. Professor Dube shows how attacks on unions, and declining union membership, have reversed those gains: leading to lower wages for workers, more profits going to corporate executives, and growing income inequality. He also offers hope for a future where the economic choices we make as a society can rebuild a wage structure that assures workers get a fair share. Unions and collective bargaining are powerful tools in his vision and organized labor can move us to a better, fairer future where we can assure prosperity for all Americans.”—Elizabeth H. Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO

“What The Wage Standard does best is highlight the great discretion we have to increase wages and the wisdom of bold steps to reduce inequality. For advocates, it buttresses arguments calling for better wages. For policymakers, it offers a dose of courage by expanding the conventional wisdom about what is responsible economic policy.”—The Washington Monthly