This study uses a model of comparative advantage to model the choice of workers into three broad occupations. The pursuit of comparative advantage is shown to reduce the level of inequality from what would occur in a random assignment of workers into occupations. However, after pricing the skills of workers separately within occupations, the results indicate that the sectors are becoming more similar in the way that they value workers' skills, thus reducing the importance of comparative advantage over time. Inequality is rising as the economy is increasingly characterized by the pursuit of absolute advantage rather than comparative advantage.

This study examines the determinants of performance measure choices in worker incentive plans. The results indicate that informativeness issues such as those addressed in economic theories have a significant effect on measurement choices. However, other reasons for adopting the plans, such as upgrading the workforce and linking bonuses to the firm’s ability to pay, also influence measurement choices, as do union representation and management participation in plan design. Moreover, the factors influencing the use of specific measures vary, suggesting that the aggregate performance measure classifications commonly used in compensation research provide somewhat misleading inferences regarding performance measurement choices.