The Meritocracy Trap
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college, 137–39
and educational inequality, 25–26, 138–39, 143–44, 145–46
and enrichment activities, 124–25, 128–31, 208
extent of, 7–8, 25–26, 298fig, 310tab
and fetishization of skills, 240
income as return on, 11–12, 13, 36, 182–83, 305fig
as inheritance, 146–47, 150–51, 189, 276, 311tab, 312
and labor market polarization, 183–84
preschools, 122–23
private schools, 125–26
public schools, 126–28
elite income
and debt, 222–23
explosion of, 4–5, 11, 18, 36, 90, 97, 161, 184, 252
industry as source of, 3, 13, 17–18, 32, 36, 88–92, 93–94, 292fig
midcentury society, 13, 18, 199
private vs. public sector, 55–57
ratios of, 104–6, 294fig, 295
ratios within industries, 18, 178, 199
as return on education investment, 11–12, 13, 36, 182–83, 305fig
share of total income, 13, 47–48, 102–3
and tax rates, 58, 199
top 1 percent share, 13, 47–48, 102–3, 104, 108, 252, 293fig
and work intensity, 88–89, 192
elite motherhood, xv, 119, 120, 209
elite political power, 51–59
campaign financing, 52
and income defense industry, 54–58
and lobbyists, 52–54
and meritocratic inequality, 54
and populism, 65
and wealth, 51–52
elites, burdens on, ix–x, xiii, 32–35
adult symptoms of, 42–44
childhood symptoms of, 41–42
and collective anxiety, xvi, xviii, xix
college-age symptoms of, 42
and competition, xvi, xvii–xviii, 33, 34–35, 37, 153–54, 155
and critiques of meritocracy, 78, 273
and education, xvii–xviii, 32, 34, 41–42, 152, 154
and education reform, 278–79
and human capital, 35–41
and insecurity, 35
and precarious dynastic inheritance, xv, 35, 115–16, 262
proposed cures for, 271–72
student awareness of, xv–xvi
See also elite work intensity
elite service promise, xi, xii, xviii, 52–53, 94–95
elite wealth
under aristocracy, 3–4, 35–36, 37, 41, 193–94, 262
inherited, xiv–xv, 89, 94–95, 115, 145–46
and political power, 51–52
See also elite income
elite work, 8–12
under aristocracy, 8–9, 11
collaborative culture, 205
competitive nature of, 33–35, 82–83, 158, 188–89, 190
and human capital, 38, 39
income defense industry as, 54–58
limited job types, 39
male domination of, 209
and meritocracy as return to aristocracy, 15
midcentury, 4, 11, 157, 292fig
and military research, 236–37
and personal services, 12
productivity measurement difficulty, 189–90
and promises of meritocracy, xi
as source of income, 3, 13, 17–18, 32, 36, 88–92, 93–94, 292fig
See also elite income; elite work intensity; innovation-based labor market polarization; labor market polarization
elite work intensity, 4, 10–11, 42–44, 82–86, 189–92, 292fig
and alienation, 37–38, 39–40, 192–93
and class divide, 206
dissatisfaction with, 44, 191–92
elite education as preparation for, 155
finance industry, 32, 42–43, 44, 82, 190, 191
impact on personal lives, 32–33, 41, 190–91
and income, 88–89, 192
law firms, 10, 32, 33, 43, 44, 84, 97, 190
management, 32, 44, 82–83
and rat-race effect, 189–90
and valorization of industry, 4, 11, 95–98, 157–58, 193, 202
enrichment activities, 124–25, 128–31, 208
entertainment industry, 178
equality of opportunity. See opportunity, equality of
estate taxes, 58, 276
executives. See management
executive stock compensation, 91–92
exploit, 80, 84, 97
extracurricular activities. See enrichment activities
extreme jobs, 10
Exxon, 237
families
under aristocracy, 207
and class divide, 116–18
elite motherhood, xv, 119, 120, 209
and elite work intensity, 32–33, 41, 190–91
and middle-class exclusion, 30
See also elite childhood
Family Dollar, 218
Farage, Nigel, 271
fast-food industry, 159–61
feedback loops. See cycle of meritocracy
fee tail, 261
Ferrari, 220
feudalism, 37, 59, 216
See also aristocracy
Fieldston School, 122, 123, 126
finance industry, 163–69
bankers’ hours, 10, 81
competition, 33
early innovations in, 236–38
elite income explosion, 11, 18, 90, 164, 239
growth of, 163–64, 180
income defense function, 54–58
and increased debt, 234, 235–36
industry as source of elite income in, 90
innovation-based labor market polarization in, 9, 162, 164, 167–69, 238–39, 254, 266
international comparisons, 254
labor market polarization in, 12, 164–66, 167–69, 238–39, 302fig, 303
lobbyists for, 53–54
luxury services, 222
male domination of, 209
and management innovations, 244
midcentury, 81, 163, 165, 167, 238, 303
mid-skilled job promotion in, 280
and postgraduate schooling, 141–42
retired congresspeople in, 57
valorization of industry in, 96–97
work intensity, 32, 42–43, 44, 82, 190, 191
financial crisis (2007–8), 14, 58, 66
See also Great Recession
fitness as status symbol, 48, 215
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 47, 50, 201, 232
Ford Motor Company, 203, 217, 218, 248
founder’s stock, 91–92, 94
Frank, Robert H., 320n(29), 321n(34), 352n(129), 361n(153), 368n(178), 369n(178), 376n(188), 389n(239)
Franklin, Benjamin, 79–80
fraud, 17
Freud, Sigmund, 211
Galbraith, John Kenneth, 21, 99, 105
Gates, Bill, 95
gender norms, 209–10
See also women and gender
General Electric (GE), 173
General Motors, 172, 179, 235
geographical class concentration, 28, 41–42, 48–49, 57–58, 127, 223–28
Georgescu, Peter, 283
Germany, 252–54
GI Bill, 111–12, 198, 204
Gilded Age, 51
Gini index, 105, 296fig, 297
Ginsburg, Ruth Bader, xii
gloomy/glossy job division. See labor market polarization
Goldin, Claudia, 347n(120), 363n(161), 372n(183), 376n188), 380n(209), 389nn(240, 242), 392nn(248), 393nn(251–52), 394n(252)
Goldman Sachs
and charisma of meritocracy, xi
and classical liberalism, 214
and elite income explosion, 164
and fraud, 17
and human capital, 38
and luxury goods, 220
work intensity, 43, 190, 191
Great Compression, 47, 51, 102, 201, 218
Great Depression, xvii, 77, 79, 81, 274
Great Recession, 66, 102, 104, 181
See also financial crisis (2007–8)
Griswold, A. Whitney, 112, 113
Groton, 111
GTE, 246
Gulf War (1990–91), 205
Harrington, Michael, 99–100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 107
Harvard Business School, 143–44, 184
Harvard Law School, 8
Harvard University, xi, 6, 25, 112
helicopter parenting, 154
Heller, Walter, 101
Hemingway, Ernest, 32, 47, 50, 51, 201
Henderson, Bruce, 245–46
Hewlet, Sylvia Ann, 315nn(10), 316n(12), 321n(32), 324n(44), 333nn(83), 338n(96), 339n(97), 368n(177), 376n(190), 377nn(191)
hiring practices, 203–4
Ho, Karen, 313n(xi), 315nn(10), 316n(11), 320n(32), 332nn(82), 338nn(96–97), 339n(98), 362nn(157), 363n(164), 365nn(168), 377n(191), 378nn(192–93), 389n(239), 390n(343), 391n(246)
Hochschild, Arlie Russell, 321n(32), 324n(44), 329n(63), 330nn(63, 68), 333nn(83), 377n(191), 379n(205), 381nn(215–16), 385n(227), 387n(282)
home mortgage lending, 164–67, 236
homeschooling, 125
housing prices, 25, 46, 48, 56, 225–26, 234
Hoxby, Caroline M., 354n(133), 355n(133), 357n(138), 358nn(138–39), 360n(149), 372n(183)
human capital, 35–41
and alienation, 37–38, 39–41, 193
vs. aristocratic wealth, 35–36
and competition, 37, 154
and elite childhood, 119–23, 131, 207
and elite education, 38–39, 115, 116, 154
and elite income explosion, 36
and elite work, 38, 39
and geographical concentration, 224
and innovation-based labor market polarization, 239–40, 248–50, 251–52, 254, 259
and marriage, 118
and midcentury management, 171
and military research, 237
mobility of, 49
resilience of, 150
and resource curse, 257
as self-exploitation, 40–41, 44, 78, 155, 262
and shared interest, 285
See also elite educational investment
Hunter College High School, 151–54
IBM, 140–41, 174
Icahn, Carl, 173
identity politics, xvii, 57, 60–61, 62, 63, 64, 272
See also nativism
inclusion. See identity politics
Industrial Revolution, 247–48, 250
industry, valorization of, 207
and competition, 157–58
and elite work intensity, 4, 11, 95–98, 157–58, 193, 202
and luxury goods, 219–20
and moral insult to middle class, ix, xiv, xvii, 24, 30–31, 60, 62–64, 187–88, 206
See also elite work intensity
industry as source of elite income, 3, 13, 17–18, 32, 36, 88–92, 93–94, 292fig
See also human capital; industry, valorization of
innovation-based labor market polarization, 5, 9–10, 12, 161–63, 180
and class divide, 256
and competition, 158
and cycle of meritocracy, 239–40, 254, 267–68
fast-food industry, 160–61
finance industry, 9, 162, 164, 165, 167–69, 238–39, 254, 266
and leisure, 185–86
in management, 9, 83, 161, 162, 170–71, 172–73, 174–75, 243–44, 246–47, 266
manufacturing industry, 9, 179
and middle-class job loss, 23–24
origins in finance industry, 236–38
and productivity measurement, 266–67
and reform agenda, 283–84
as result of elite human capital, 239–40, 248–50, 251–52, 254, 259
retail industry, 177, 178
Instagram, 179
internships, 142
Iraq war, 205
Jaimovich, Nir, 304fig
James, LeBron, 178
JD.com, 175
Jefferson, Thomas, 71, 260
Jobs, Steve, 214
Johnson, Lyndon B., 78, 101–2, 104
JPMorgan Chase (bank), 18, 192
junk bonds, 238
Kaplan, Steven, 314n(5), 335n(88), 336nn(89-90), 363n(164)
Katz, Lawrence F., 347n(120), 362n(158), 363n(161), 372n(183), 374n(183), 375n(186), 385n(227), 389nn(240, 242), 392nn(248), 393nn(251–52), 394nn(252-53), 401n(283)
Kennedy, John F., 101
Keynes, John Maynard, 185, 186, 187
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 60
Koch brothers, 52
Kodak, 140, 141, 179
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company, 243
Kolko, Gabriel, 100
labor market polarization, 4, 70, 158–59, 304fig
and class divide, 182, 202–3, 204, 255
and consulting industry, 246
and education, 182–84, 305fig
entertainment industry, 178
finance industry, 12, 164–66, 167–69, 238–39, 302fig, 303
increasing trends in, 180–81
international comparisons, 252–53, 307fig
as labor market polarization, 158
management, 175–77, 204
manufacturing industry, 12, 179, 180
and middle-class income, 23–24, 104–6, 294fig
and middle-class workplace subordination, 173, 205–6
and moral insult to middle class, ix, xiv, xvii, 24, 30–31, 60, 62–64, 187–88, 206
and postgraduate schooling, 184–85
and race, 206–7
reform agenda, 275–76, 279–84
retail industry, 9, 177–78
and social mobility, 27
and tax policy, 281–82
and work intensity, 192
See also innovation-based labor market polarization
Lafargue, Paul, 185
Lamborghini, 220
Langone, Ken, 283
La Rochefoucauld, François de, 263
law firms
clerical jobs in, 178
competition, 33
elite income explosion, 11, 18, 90, 184
income defense function, 54–58
industry as source of elite income in, 90
luxury services, 222
male domination of, 209
and management innovations, 244–45
and midcentury elite leisure, 82
mid-skilled job promotion in, 280
and postgraduate schooling, 141
valorization of industry in, 97
work intensity, 10, 32, 33, 43, 44, 84, 97, 190
workplace training, 140
legacy admissions practices, 17, 111–12
leisure
under aristocracy, 3–4, 77, 79–80, 86–87, 95–96, 193–94, 207
and class divide, 215–16
elite contempt for, 98, 215
and exploit, 80, 84, 97
and innovation-based labor market polarization, 185–86
and meritocratic inequality, 85, 86, 292fig
midcentury elite, 81–82
and poverty, 103
Leonhardt, David, 325n(48), 342n(105), 356n(137), 358n(138), 371n(182), 376
n(188), 378n(202), 381n(215), 385n(227)
liberalism, 214
life expectancy, 30–31, 65–66, 104, 231–32
Lipton (law firm), 243
lobbyists, 52–54, 57
London School of Economics, xi
Lott, Ronnie, 43
Luce, Carolyn Buck, 315nn(10), 316n(12), 321n(32), 324n(44), 333nn(83), 338n(96), 339n(97), 368n(177), 376n(190), 377nn(191)
Luddites, 248
luxury goods, 219–22, 224–25
Macdonald, Dwight, 101
Madonna, 221
Magowan, Robert, 241
management, 169–77
competition, 33–34, 82–83
and consulting industry, 176, 245–46
and corporate control, 243–44
and corporate restructuring, 173–74, 176
and debt financing, 242–43
early twentieth century, 169–70, 240–41, 242
executive stock compensation, 92
income explosion, 11, 18, 56, 90, 161, 176, 184, 247
innovation-based labor market polarization in, 9, 83, 161, 162, 170–71, 172–73, 174–75, 243–44, 246–47, 266
labor market polarization in, 175–77, 204
male domination of, 209
midcentury, 169, 171–72, 174, 241, 243
mid-skilled job promotion in, 280
nineteenth-century absence of, 169–70, 242
and postgraduate schooling, 141–42
work intensity, 32, 44, 82–83
workplace training, 140–41, 159, 171
Mankiw, Gregory, 97, 107, 109, 265
manufacturing industry
elite wealth based in, 89
and gender norms, 209–10
innovation-based labor market polarization in, 9, 179
job losses in, 22, 23, 30, 163, 209–10
labor market polarization in, 12, 179, 180
midcentury, 9, 20–21
nineteenth century, 3, 169–70
marriage, 48, 116–17, 118, 207–8, 210–11
See also families
Marshall Plan for America (Center for American Progress), 283
Marx, Karl, 40, 88
mass incarceration, 206–7
mass production, 171, 248
Matthew Effect, 115
Mayer, Martin, 81
McDonald’s, 159–60, 161, 162, 175, 176, 204
McEnroe, John, 84
McKinsey, Bain & Company (consulting firm), 176, 245, 246
median income, 21
medical profession
elite income explosion, 18, 90
industry as source of elite income in, 90
luxury services, 221–22
male domination of, 209
mid-skilled job promotion in, 280
and postgraduate schooling, 141
work intensity, 83–84
workplace training, 140
medieval society, 59