Stasis and Change: Trends in Individuals’ Earnings and Inequality in Canada, 1982-92

There has been, in Canada as elsewhere, a recent resurgence of interest in the distribution of earnings. One reason is that trends in real earnings have been diverging and earnings inequality has been on the rise. Many related questions emerge. Which particular groups – women as compared to men, younger versus older workers, and so on – have been doing better or worse than others? Where has inequality been rising more or less? Has there been a structural shift in the distribution of earnings or do the trends simply reflect normal business cycle effects? What relative impacts have between-group and within-group shifts in earnings patterns and inequality had on the more aggregate changes? The list of such questions is long, interesting, and important, especially in a policy context.