Leading economists from Paul Samuelson to Paul Krugman have labored to allay the fear that technological advances may reduce overall employment, causing mass unemployment as workers are displaced by machines. This ‘lump of labor fallacy’ - positing that there is a fixed amount of work to be...

I propose a major program of research on skill, education, and the labor market. The program will build on four facts. First, ability and skill are multidimensional. Second, secondary and postsecondary education is heterogeneous in quality and in the types of skills and knowledge provided....