Blue Collar Blues - Is Trade to Blame for Rising US Income Inequality?

Is trade to blame for rising US income inequality? Not really, contends Lawrence (trade and investment, Harvard U.), who argues much of the reported gap between real blue-collar wages and labor productivity growth is due to measurement issues and the rapid acquisition of skills by white-collar workers, while only some 30 percent is attributable to conventional wage inequality, the dramatic increase in wages of the richest Americans, and class inequality. Further, the role of trade in these inequalities is quite minimal, he finds in his economic analysis, and they should instead be addressed through use of the tax system to improve income distribution and adjustment policies to deal with worker and community dislocation. Annotation 2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)