This paper argues that changes in the returns to occupational tasks have contributed tochanges in the wage distribution over the last three decades. Using Current PopulationSurvey (CPS) data, we first show that the 1990s polarization of wages is explained bychanges in wage setting between and...

We document that an increasing fraction of jobs in the U.S. labor market explicitly payworkers for their performance using bonuses, commissions, or piece-rates. We find thatcompensation in performance-pay jobs is more closely tied to both observed (by theeconometrician) and unobserved productive...