Socially stigmatised groups, such as gays, or the disabled, have also made progress towards full social acceptance. The old left blames increasing economic inequality on globalisation, especially the expansion of global free trade. But in spite of the forcefulness with which the argument is pressed, free trade seems the least important influence. The idea is that less skilled workers in the industrial countries are at an increasing disadvantage when compared to their counterparts elsewhere, who will work for much lower wages. However, disparities of income have not grown only, or even primarily, in industries where trade is important.
Technological change is almost certainly more significant.
The spread of information technology creates a declining demand for less skilled workers, whose job opportunities and wages therefore decline. At the same time, qualified workers are able to increase their productivity and their earning power, pulling further away from those who are left behind. One of the most systematic studies we have, however, that concentrates on the United States, suggests that technological change still accounts for only a relatively small part of the increased inequality observable there over the period 1990-96. Members of two-earner families are becoming more affluent, plus childless people who are economically successful. Houses, shares and pensions funds, rising in value over the period, have added to their prosperity.