The banking industry has undergone marked changes over the past 20 years, driven by deregulation and new technologies. Two strategies have emerged: the low-cost transaction approach and the high-road relationship banking approach. The number of employees in commercial banking has fallen significantly, and average hourly earnings for nonmanagerial…

To examine the impact of rising wage inequality on lifetime wage growth, a study compared the wage mobility experienced by two cohorts of young white men from the National Longitudinal Surveys. The original cohort entered the labor market in the mid-1960s at the end of the economic boom and was followed through the end of the 1970s. The recent…

Economic, technological, and political changes have created a new employment relationship characterized by an externalized labor market, more tenuous ties between workers and employers, and growing wage inequality. To date, policymakers have sought to address these problems through a supply-side approach focused on education and training. What is…

The future of low-wage jobs is examined through a case study of firm restructuring in the retail industry. The study confirms that the retailing sector has come to be dominated by the Wal-Mart model, which emphasizes an efficient technology-driven inventory management system and a human resource approach that includes the following elements:…

The business press abounds with examples of innovative companies that have created high-quality jobs; however, low-wage, deskilled jobs filled by contingent workers are equally prevalent. More than one in six U.S. workers currently hold retail jobs. The effect of globalization of trade on the retail industry is unclear. The most significant…