The author finds that about half of earnings inequality in the U.S. can be explained by family and community influences during childhood. He also finds that these influences have become more important in recent decades.

The authors examine 39 years of wage data for workers in mobile occupations within a set of employers in three midwestern cities. They study wage changes during years of rising, falling, and steady inflation to identify regularities that could broaden understanding of the inflationary process at...