O51 - Economywide Country Studies: U.S.; CanadaReturn

This paper examines the impact of the technological change on income inequality in the United States of America. This is done by integrating theoretical and analytical findings of the channels through which technological change affects income inequality. The research is based on century-long income inequality data sets, although it prioritises the study of income inequality between the 1970s and the 2010s. The two major causes of rising income inequality have been technological change and globalisation. The paper also accounts for the other inequality triggers that have resulted from the political and economic structure of the country. The spread of automatisation and computerisation and of other changes associated with The Fourth Industrial Revolution are likely to reinforce skill-biased technological change. Therefore, new measures addressing income inequality, such as Universal Basic Income, are discussed.

The European Union and the United States of America present the world's largest exporter and importer of goods, services and capital. The idea of increasing foreign trade between them based on the implementation of the lowest degree of economic integration, a free trade area, is not new. A proposal was made in the 1990s to create a Transatlantic Free Trade Area between the EU and member countries of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has not been successfully implemented. Nowadays, it is getting back to the forefront of interest among not only politicians but also economists. Whether political or economic pressures are behind this step, it is important to understand the general principle of the functioning of the free trade area. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the basic characteristics of the free trade area on the example of the EU and the US.