Abstract
This chapter introduces the topic of skills and inequality. It begins by showing how skills have gradually moved to center stage in discussions of economic and social inequality, in both academic research and policy formation. An overview is then provided of conceptual and measurement issues tied to the vertical differentiation of work tasks, i.e., the structure of work-life hierarchies. A large amount of research in several disciplines strongly indicates that job complexity - the skill requirements of jobs - is the main dimension of this differentiation. Productivity is the apparent driving mechanism of the tight link between job complexity and rewards. The best available indicator of job complexity is educational requirements, with good measurement properties. In concluding, the stage is set for the 17 chapters of the present volume that follow this introductory overview. Each chapter examines a major aspect of the general topic of skills and inequality and opens vistas for future research.
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