Why firms actually underpay their workers? Prof. Arin Dube

About this episode

The episode discusses the disconnect between productivity and wages, featuring insights from labor economist Arindrajit Dube.

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 walk through the mechanisms behind wage stagnation, the role of market power in labor markets, and the policy levers Dube proposes to restore the link between work and prosperity.

People in this episode

Guests: Prof. Arin Dube, Arindrajit Dube

Topics covered

• wage stagnation
• productivity
• labor markets
• economic policy
• political failure

Keywords

• wages
• productivity
• labor economics
• market power
• economic policy

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Wage Standard

More episodes of Money & Macro Talks

• Why governments can borrow more than they think. Prof. Bezemer · May 28, 2026 · 40 min
• Are we already in a new World War? prof. Paul Poast · May 21, 2026 · 1h 0m
• Will western governments soon hit their debt limits? Prof. John Cochrane · May 19, 2026 · 50 min
• What happens when you tax the rich? Prof. Wojciech Kopczuk · May 7, 2026 · 1h 2m
• Why we are getting poorer | Dr. Cahal Moran (Unlearning Economics) · April 30, 2026 · 49 min
• How are Gulf economies holding up? prof. Steffen Hertog · April 23, 2026 · 26 min