A Nation at Risk (NAR; National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) had a tremendous impact on what schools do and has since spawned other reforms that attest to the report's ongoing influence. Coming in the wake of a decade of economic stagnation and import pressures from overseas producers, the authors of NAR blamed these problems on…

Earnings inequality increased sharply in the early 1980s, tapered off in the later 1980s, and reaccelerated in the 1990s. Although inequality increased overall and for men and women separately, a combined analysis overlooks differences in the labor market dynamics of men and women. (Author)

A study gathered data that described recent changes in the economic well-being of U.S. workers and their families. Data, including family incomes, wages, fringe benefits, and employment, showed that, in 1987, after 5 years of recovery, the average worker was worse off economically than at the peak of the last business cycle. The typical family's…

An examination of the conventional wisdom that the economy will face a labor shortage was done in three stages. First, the demand side of the labor market was analyzed. Changes in the skill requirements of jobs from 1973-86 were examined as were those changes anticipated by projections of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2000. The conclusion was…