The Consequences Of The Decline Of Men

George Mason economist Tyler Cowen reflects on new research showing that the proportion of cognitively intense jobs held by college-educated men has fallen in recent decades.

The decline of traditional blue-collar jobs in manufacturing and industry is well known. As wages have stagnated, it has become more and more difficult for working-class men to earn enough to provide for their families. The traditional (and many would say dated) single breadwinner household model no longer works. This economic trend has profound implications for society and for gender relations. Indeed, many commentators see this trend as part of a wider crisis for working-class men that has helped give rise to economic popularism and Donald Trump.

The evidence Cowen reviews, provided by Guido Matias Cortes, Nir Jaimovich, and Henry Siu, however, suggests that this decline is not just confined to non-college educated men. College educated men are finding it tougher to get more rewarding and cognitively demanding jobs. This contrasts with women who have dramatically increased their share of cognitively demanding jobs in recent decades. The authors suggest that this can be explained by a "greater increase in the demand for female-oriented skills in cognitive/high-wage occupations relative to other occupations".

Cowen reflects on the wider implications of these developments for society. He does not, however, touch on the backlash that these trends might already be provoking.