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    The Wage Standard

    What's Wrong in the Labor Market and How to Fix It

    Author Arindrajit Dube
    Ebook (EPUB)
    Penguin Adult HC/TR | Dutton
    On sale Mar 31, 2026 | 320 Pages | 9780593471425
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    “The go-to guy on minimum wage” (Nobel Laureate and New York Times bestselling author Paul Krugman) tackles one of the thorniest social issues of our times—income inequality—from a new vantage point with field-leading economics.

    How did the labor market stop working for so many in the workforce? Why did wages at the bottom and in the middle of the pay scale fail to keep up with a growing economy that delivered over 70 percent productivity gains and soaring incomes for those at the top? What caused this divergence, and what can we do about it now? The Wage Standard is a deep dive into these very questions—questions Arin Dube has explored in over two decades of influential research.

    Painting a new picture with data, Dube shows us how wages for most workers became painfully frozen. But also, he argues, this fate was not inevitable, and more importantly, that it can be reversed. The Wage Standard lays bare how the labor market really works, revealing levers to pull to shift course: to reshape corporate decisions, rethink policy priorities, and rebalance economic power and social norms to better protect the typical worker. These are the keys to unlocking broad-based prosperity.

    Dube delivers a hopeful message. First, chances are, you deserve a raise. And second, it’s not necessary to fix the broken politics of Washington, DC, in order to get one. Political will, public engagement, and persistence can set a new standard to reset the labor market and improve the lives of American workers starting today. In fact, signs of progress are already offering a glimpse of what a fairer economy can and will look like.
    "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, former Chair of the Federal Reserve, Distinguished Fellow, The Brookings Institution

    "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.
    © Sam Jackson
    ARINDRAJIT (ARIN) DUBE is Provost Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and research fellow at the Institute for Labor in Germany. He has testified before Congress, consulted with the UK government, provided counsel to many state legislatures, and is invited to speak about his research around the world. Dube publishes consistently in top economics journals, such as the Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review, Review of Economics and Statistics, and American Economic Journal. He has written opinion pieces for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and has been interviewed extensively on radio and television programs, including NPR, MSNBC, CNBC, and Bloomberg TV. View titles by Arindrajit Dube
    Table of Contents

    CHAPTER 1
    A Raise Deferred

    CHAPTER 2
    Monopsony!

    CHAPTER 3
    Tales of Market Tightness

    CHAPTER 4
    The Treaty of Detroit

    CHAPTER 5
    Corporate Pay Strategies

    CHAPTER 6
    The Minimal Cost of Higher Minimums

    CHAPTER 7
    More Than the Minimum

    CHAPTER 8
    The Politics of Possibility

    Appendix A: Econ-Speak and Other Jargon, Decoded

    Appendix B: Five Equations That Explain How Wages Are Set

    About

    “The go-to guy on minimum wage” (Nobel Laureate and New York Times bestselling author Paul Krugman) tackles one of the thorniest social issues of our times—income inequality—from a new vantage point with field-leading economics.

    How did the labor market stop working for so many in the workforce? Why did wages at the bottom and in the middle of the pay scale fail to keep up with a growing economy that delivered over 70 percent productivity gains and soaring incomes for those at the top? What caused this divergence, and what can we do about it now? The Wage Standard is a deep dive into these very questions—questions Arin Dube has explored in over two decades of influential research.

    Painting a new picture with data, Dube shows us how wages for most workers became painfully frozen. But also, he argues, this fate was not inevitable, and more importantly, that it can be reversed. The Wage Standard lays bare how the labor market really works, revealing levers to pull to shift course: to reshape corporate decisions, rethink policy priorities, and rebalance economic power and social norms to better protect the typical worker. These are the keys to unlocking broad-based prosperity.

    Dube delivers a hopeful message. First, chances are, you deserve a raise. And second, it’s not necessary to fix the broken politics of Washington, DC, in order to get one. Political will, public engagement, and persistence can set a new standard to reset the labor market and improve the lives of American workers starting today. In fact, signs of progress are already offering a glimpse of what a fairer economy can and will look like.

    Reviews

    "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, former Chair of the Federal Reserve, Distinguished Fellow, The Brookings Institution

    "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.

    Author

    © Sam Jackson
    ARINDRAJIT (ARIN) DUBE is Provost Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and research fellow at the Institute for Labor in Germany. He has testified before Congress, consulted with the UK government, provided counsel to many state legislatures, and is invited to speak about his research around the world. Dube publishes consistently in top economics journals, such as the Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review, Review of Economics and Statistics, and American Economic Journal. He has written opinion pieces for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and has been interviewed extensively on radio and television programs, including NPR, MSNBC, CNBC, and Bloomberg TV. View titles by Arindrajit Dube

    Table of Contents

    Table of Contents

    CHAPTER 1
    A Raise Deferred

    CHAPTER 2
    Monopsony!

    CHAPTER 3
    Tales of Market Tightness

    CHAPTER 4
    The Treaty of Detroit

    CHAPTER 5
    Corporate Pay Strategies

    CHAPTER 6
    The Minimal Cost of Higher Minimums

    CHAPTER 7
    More Than the Minimum

    CHAPTER 8
    The Politics of Possibility

    Appendix A: Econ-Speak and Other Jargon, Decoded

    Appendix B: Five Equations That Explain How Wages Are Set

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