Why firms actually underpay their workers? Prof. Arin Dube

Money & Macro Talks · Jun 4, 2026 · 45m

For decades, productivity and wages grew together. Then they didn't. Since the 1970s, workers across the developed world have become significantly more productive, yet their wages have largely stagnated. Where did the gains go, and what can policy actually do about it?

In this episode, we examine the central argument of The Wage Standard, the new book by labor economist Arindrajit Dube. Dube argues that the decoupling of wages from productivity is not an inevitable consequence of technological change or globalization, but a political and institutional failure, one that can be reversed. We…