TY - JOUR
T1 - Is Rising Earnings Inequality Associated with Increased Exploitation? Evidence for U.S. Manufacturing Industries, 1971–1996
AU - Sakamoto, Arthur
AU - Kim, Chang Hwan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2010 by Pacific Sociological Association.
PY - 2010/3
Y1 - 2010/3
N2 - Is the trend towards rising earnings inequality associated with
increased exploitation? The authors investigate exploitation among
workers using data for manufacturing industries. Defined as the
underpayment of earnings relative to productivity as evaluated in the
market, exploitation is measured for various groups of employees. The
results indicate significant levels of exploitation among women,
Hispanics, African Americans, and blue-collar workers. By contrast,
employees who are overpaid relative to their productivities include
middle-aged workers, older workers, and managers. Additional findings
suggest that the increase in inequality in recent years has been
associated with heightened exploitation due to the underpayment of
workers in the lowest two quintiles of the earnings distribution, while
workers in the upper two quintiles have become increasingly overpaid.
Rising earnings inequality in the manufacturing sector thus appears to
be associated with increased exploitation when the latter is measured as
the underpayment of market value to workers. A related analysis by Liu,
Sakamoto, and Su also investigates patterns of economic underpayment
and overpayment but does not link them explicitly to inequality in the
distribution of earnings and how the level of inequality has been
increasing in recent years.
AB - Is the trend towards rising earnings inequality associated with
increased exploitation? The authors investigate exploitation among
workers using data for manufacturing industries. Defined as the
underpayment of earnings relative to productivity as evaluated in the
market, exploitation is measured for various groups of employees. The
results indicate significant levels of exploitation among women,
Hispanics, African Americans, and blue-collar workers. By contrast,
employees who are overpaid relative to their productivities include
middle-aged workers, older workers, and managers. Additional findings
suggest that the increase in inequality in recent years has been
associated with heightened exploitation due to the underpayment of
workers in the lowest two quintiles of the earnings distribution, while
workers in the upper two quintiles have become increasingly overpaid.
Rising earnings inequality in the manufacturing sector thus appears to
be associated with increased exploitation when the latter is measured as
the underpayment of market value to workers. A related analysis by Liu,
Sakamoto, and Su also investigates patterns of economic underpayment
and overpayment but does not link them explicitly to inequality in the
distribution of earnings and how the level of inequality has been
increasing in recent years.
KW - exploitation
KW - earnings inequality
KW - manufacturing industry
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77949639798&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1525/sop.2010.53.1.19
DO - 10.1525/sop.2010.53.1.19
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:77949639798
SN - 0731-1214
VL - 53
SP - 19
EP - 43
JO - Sociological Perspectives
JF - Sociological Perspectives
IS - 1
ER -