Inequality is forged by public policy, especially by variations in public policy across national settings and by changes in public policy over time.  Explaining the exceptional trajectory of American inequality, in other words, depends largely on identifying those key differences or key changes.  Since (as we established above) inequality is rooted in wages and compensation, it makes sense to start with the politics and policies that shape wages and labor standards.

Begin this path: Differences that Matter

1. The Union Difference: Labor Policy and American Inequality
2. The Bare Minimum: Labor Standards and American Inequality
3. The Perils of Private Welfare: Job-Based Benefits and American Inequality
4. A Tattered Safety Net: Social Policy and American Inequality
5. Who Pays? Taxes and American Inequality
6. Wolves of Wall Street: Financialization and American Inequality
7. Fatter Cats: Executive Pay and American Inequality
8. Choosing Unemployment: Macroeconomic Policy and American Inequality

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