Essays on Income Inequality

Abstract

This dissertation relates to the causes and consequences of contemporary economic inequality in the United States, with a particular eye toward highlighting disparities in opportunities. The first chapter investigates how the labor market compensates workers for jobs characterized by different amenities, and which types of workers financially win and lose from this system. In Chapter 2, I study socioeconomic disparities in who becomes an inventor, and the role that childhood exposure to inventors can play in mitigating such disparities. Finally, Chapter 3 directly evaluates the role of mentors in disadvantaged children's careers through a linkage of a 1991 RCT to administrative data on earnings and other outcomes of interest.