5. Disparity in income growth. Trends in job creation are
contributing to growing income polarization across advanced
economies. Households at the bottom of the distribution have
seen little or no income growth in many countries over the last
decade, raising questions about aggregate demand, living
standards, and social stability. As we have seen, globalization
and technology have greatly increased demand for highly skilled
workers, pushing up wages for these people and reducing demand
for the less-skilled. Other factors are driving growing income
disparity as well. One is shifting patterns in family formation:
across the OECD, the proportion of single-headed households
(single adults with and without children) has risen by 25
percent since the 1980s, limiting the growth of household
income. At the same time, marriage rates rise along with
educational attainment -- and with high earners more frequently
marrying one another, it further widens the income gap. As a
result, most advanced economies have seen incom