David Autor

Published Articles

The Faltering Escalator of Urban Opportunity
David H. Autor
in Securing Our Economic Future, Melissa S Kearney and Amy Ganz (eds.), 108–36, Aspen Institute, 2020.

Importing Political Polarization? The Electoral Consequences of Rising Trade Exposure
David Autor, David Dorn, Gordon Hanson and Kaveh Majlesi
American Economic Review, 2020, 110(10), 3139–3183

The Fall of the Labor Share and the Rise of Superstar Firms
David Autor, David Dorn, Lawrence F. Katz, Christina Patterson, and John Van Reenen
Quarterly Journal of Economics, 135(2), May 2020, 645–709.

Foreign Competition and Domestic Innovation: Evidence from U.S. Patents
David Autor, David Dorn, Gordon H. Hanson, Gary Pisano, and Pian Shu
American Economic Review: Insights, 2020, 2(3), 357-374.

Work of the Past, Work of the Future
Richard T. Ely Lecture
American Economic Association: Papers and Proceeding, May 2019, 109(5), 1–32

When Work Disappears: Manufacturing Decline and the Falling Marriage-Market Value of Young Men
David Autor, David Dorn and Gordon Hanson
American Economic Review: Insights, 2019, 1(2): 161-178.

Disability Benefits, Consumption Insurance, and Household Labor Supply
David Autor, Andreas Ravndal Kostøl, Magne Mogstad
American Economic Review, 2019, 109(7), 2613–2654

Family Disadvantage and the Gender Gap in Behavioral and Educational Outcomes
David Autor, David Figlio, Krzysztof Karbownik, Jeffrey Roth and Melanie Wasserman
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2019, 11(3), 338–381

Is Automation Labor Share-Displacing: Productivity Growth, Employment, and the Labor Share
David Autor and Anna Salomons
Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Spring 2018, 1-63

Trade and Labor Markets: Lessons from China's Rise
David Autor
IZA World of Labor, 2018:431, February 2018

Concentrating on the Falling Labor Share
David Autor, David Dorn, Lawrence Katz, Christina Patterson, and John Van Reenen
American Economic Review Papers & Proceedings, 107(5): 180–185.

The China Shock: Learning from Labor Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade
David H. Autor, David Dorn, and Gordon H. Hanson
Annual Review of Economics, 2016, 8, 205–240.

The Impact of Disability Benefits on Labor Supply: Evidence from the VA’s Disability Compensation Program
David H. Autor, Mark Duggan, Kyle Greenberg, and David S. Lyle
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2016, 8(3), 31–68.

The Effect of Work First Job Placements on the Distribution of Earnings: An Instrumental Variables Quantile Regression Approach
David H. Autor, Susan N. Houseman, Sari Pekkala Kerr
Journal of Labor Economics, 2017, 35(1), 149-190.

School Quality and the Gender Gap in Educational Achievement
David H. Autor, David N. Figlio, Krzysztof Karbownik, Jeffrey Roth, and Melanie Wasserman
American Economic Review Papers & Proceedings, 2016, 106(5), 289–295.

Import Competition and the Great U.S. Employment Sag of the 2000s
Daron Acemoglu, David Autor, David Dorn, Gordon H. Hanson, and Brendan Price
Journal of Labor Economics, 2016, 34 (S1), S141–S198.

The Contribution of the Minimum Wage to U.S. Wage Inequality over Three Decades: A Reassessment
David Autor, Alan Manning, and Christopher L. Smith
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2016, 8(1), 58–99.

Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation
David H. Autor
Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer 2015, 29(3), 3–30.

Untangling Trade and Technology: Evidence from Local Labor Markets
David Autor, David Dorn, and Gordon Hanson
The Economic Journal, 2015, 125 (May), 621–646.

Evaluating Econometric Evaluations of Post-Secondary Aid
Joshua Angrist, David Autor, Sally Hudson and Amanda Pallais
American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, 2015, 105(5), 502–507.

The Paradox of Abundance: Automation Anxiety Returns
David H. Autor
Performance and Progress: Essays on Capitalism, Business, and Society, 2015, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Subramanian Rangan (ed.)

Polanyi's Paradox and the Shape of Employment Growth
David H. Autor
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City: Economic Policy Proceedings, Reevaluating Labor Market Dynamics. 2015. 129–177.

The Unsustainable Rise of the Disability Rolls in the United States: Causes, Consequences, and Policy Options
David H. Autor
Social Policies in an Age of Austerity: A Comparative Analysis of the US and Korea, 2015, Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, John Karl Scholz, Hyunpyo Moon, and Sang-Hyop Lee (eds.), 107–136.

Moral Hazard and Claims Deterrence in Private Disability Insurance
David Autor, Mark Duggan and Jonathan Gruber
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2014, 6(4): 110–141.

Trade Adjustment: Worker Level Evidence
David Autor, David Dorn, Gordon Hanson, and Jae Song
Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2014, 129(4), 1799–1860.

Housing Market Spillovers: Evidence from the End of Rent Control in Cambridge, Massachusetts
David H. Autor, Christopher J. Palmer and Parag A. Pathak
Journal of Political Economy, 2014, 122(3), 661–717.

Skills, Education, and the Rise of Earnings Inequality Among the "Other 99 Percent"
David H. Autor
Science, 23 May 2014: 344 (6186), 843–851.

Return of the Solow Paradox? IT, Productivity, and Employment in US Manufacturing
Daron Acemoglu, David Autor, David Dorn, Gordon H. Hanson, and Brendan Price
American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, 2014, 104(5), 394–399.

The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the United States
David Autor, David Dorn, and Gordon Hanson
American Economic Review, 2013, 103(6), 2121–2168.

The Growth of Low-Skill Service Jobs and the Polarization of the U.S. Labor Market
David Autor and David Dorn
American Economic Review, 2013, 103(5), 1553–1597.

The Geography of Trade and Technology Shocks in the United States
David Autor, David Dorn, Gordon Hanson
American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 2013, 103(3), 220–225.

Putting Tasks to the Test: Human Capital, Job Tasks and Wages
David Autor and Michael Handel
Journal of Labor Economics, 2013, 31(2, pt.2), S59–S96.

Wayward Sons: The Emerging Gender Gap in Labor Markets and Education
David Autor and Melanie Wasserman
Third Way, March 2013.

The “Task Approach” to Labor Markets: An Overview
David H. Autor
Journal for Labour Market Research, February 2013, 1–15.

The Journal of Economic Perspectives at 100 (Issues)
David H. Autor
Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 2012, 26(2), 3–18.

What Does Human Capital Do? A Review of Goldin and Katz's The Race between Education and Technology
Daron Acemoglu and David Autor
Journal of Economic Literature, 2012, 50(2), 426–463.

Battle Scars? The Puzzling Decline in Employment and Rise in Disability Receipt Among Vietnam Era Veterans
David H. Autor, Mark G. Duggan, and David S. Lyle
American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, May 2011, 101(2), 339–344.

Skills, Tasks and Technologies: Implications for Employment and Earnings
Daron Acemoglu and David H. Autor
Handbook of Labor Economics Volume 4, 2011, Amsterdam: Elsevier, Orley Ashenfelter and David E. Card (eds.), 1043–1171.

Supporting Work: A Proposal for Modernizing the U.S. Disability Insurance System
David Autor and Mark Duggan
Center for American Progress and the Hamilton Project, Dec 2010.

U.S. Labor Market Challenges over the Longer Term
David H. Autor
October 2010, paper prepared for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

Do Temporary Help Jobs Improve Labor Market Outcomes for Low-Skilled Workers? Evidence from 'Work First'
David H. Autor and Susan N. Houseman
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, July 2010, 2(3), 96–128.

The Polarization of Job Opportunities in the U.S. Labor Market: Implications for Employment and Earnings
David Autor
Center for American Progress and The Hamilton Project, April 2010.

Structural Demand Shifts and Potential Labor Supply Responses in the New Century
David Autor
Labor Supply in the New Century. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. 2010. Sztrecska Publishing: Sabon, in Katharine Bradbury, Christopher L. Foote, and Robert K. Triest. (eds). 161–238.

This Job is “Getting Old”: Measuring Changes in Job Opportunities using Occupational Age Structure
David Autor and David Dorn
American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, May 2009, 99(2), 45–51.

The Effect of Transfer Income on Labor Force Participation and Enrollment in Federal Benefits Programs: Evidence from the Veterans Disability Compensation Program
David H. Autor and Mark G. Duggan
A Report to the U.S. Social Security Administration, October 2008.

Trends in U.S. Wage Inequality: Revising the Revisionists
David H. Autor, Lawrence F. Katz and Melissa S. Kearney
Review of Economics and Statistics, May 2008, 90(2), 300–323.

Does Job Testing Harm Minority Workers? Evidence from Retail Establishments
David H. Autor and David Scarborough
Quarterly Journal of Economics, February 2008, 123(1), 219–277.

Does Employment Protection Reduce Productivity? Evidence from US States
David H. Autor, William R. Kerr and Adriana D. Kugler
Economics Journal, June 2007, 117, F189–F219.

Distinguishing Income from Substitution Effects in Disability Insurance
David Autor and Mark Duggan
American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, May 2007, 97(2), 119–124.

The Growth in the Social Security Disability Rolls: A Fiscal Crisis Unfolding
David H. Autor and Mark G. Duggan
Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer 2006, 20(3), 71–96.

The Costs of Wrongful-Discharge Laws
David Autor, John Donohue III and Stewart Schwab
The Review of Economics and Statistics, May 2006, 88(2), 211–231.

The Polarization of the U.S. Labor Market
David H. Autor, Lawrence F. Katz and Melissa S. Kearney
American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, May 2006, 96(2), 189–194.

Temporary Agency Employment as a Way out of Poverty?
David H. Autor and Susan N. Houseman
Working but Poor: How Economic and Policy Changes are Affecting Low-Wage Workers, August 2005. Rebecca Blank, Sheldon Danziger, and Robert Schoeni (eds.)

Women, War and Wages: The Effect of Female Labor Supply on the Wage Structure at Mid-Century
David Autor, Daron Acemoglu and David Lyle
Journal of Political Economy, June 2004, 112(3), 497–551.

The Employment Consequences of Wrongful-Discharge Laws: Large, Small, or None at All?
David H. Autor, John J. Donohue III and Stewart J. Schwab
American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, May 2004, 93(2), 440–446.

The Skill Content of Recent Technological Change: An Empirical Exploration
David H. Autor, Frank Levy and Richard J. Murnane
Quarterly Journal of Economics, November 2003, 118(4), 1279–1333.

The Rise in the Disability Rolls and the Decline in Unemployment
David H. Autor and Mark G. Duggan
Quarterly Journal of Economics, February 2003, 118(1), 157–205.

Outsourcing at Will: The Contribution of Unjust Dismissal Doctrine to the Growth of Employment Outsourcing
David Autor
Journal of Labor Economics, January 2003, 21(1), 1–42.

Skill Demand, Computerization and Inequality: Connecting the Dots
David H. Autor, Frank Levy, and Richard J. Murnane
Technology, Growth, and the Labor Market, 2002, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, Donna K. Ginther and Madeline Zavodny (eds.), 107–130.

The Role of Temporary Employment Agencies in Welfare-to-Work: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?
David H. Autor and Susan N. Houseman
Focus, 2002, 22(1), 63–70.

Upstairs, Downstairs: Computers and Skills on Two Floors of a Large Bank
David Autor, Frank Levy and Richard J. Murnane
Industrial and Labor Relations Review, April 2002, 55 (3), 432–447.

Why Do Temporary Help Firms Provide Free General Skills Training?
David Autor
Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116 (4), November 2001, 1409–1448.

Wiring the Labor Market
David H. Autor
Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2001, 15(1), 25–40.

Changes in the Wage Structure and Earnings Inequality
Lawrence F. Katz and David H. Autor
Handbook of Labor Economics Volume 3, 1999. Amsterdam: Elsevier-North Holland, Orley Ashenfelter and David Card (eds.), 1463 –1555.

Computing Inequality: Have Computers Changed the Labor Market?
David Autor, Lawrence Katz and Alan Krueger
Quarterly Journal of Economics, November 1998, 113(4), 1169–1214.