This paper surveys major empirical regularities concerning changes in earnings inequality in Europe and the U.S. over the past 25 years. Next, it indicates which of these regularities can be explained within the competitive demand-supply framework of analysis and what is left unexplained....

The paper analyzes the contemporary organizational restructuring of production and work within firms. We emphasize the shift from a "Tayloristicʺ organization of work (characterized by significant specialization by tasks) to a "holisticʺ organization (featuring job rotation, integration of...

The analysis provides a new explanation for two widespread problems concerning European unemployment policy: the disappointingly small effect of many past reform measures on unemployment, and the political difficulties in implementing more extensive reform programs. We argue that the heart of...