Helle Nørgaard

The global city thesis — social polarization and changes in the distribution of wages

Abstract The global city thesis by which Sassen (1991) has linked globalization with increased social polarization has attracted much attention and caused considerable discussion over the past decade. This article illustrates divergent approaches that have been taken to the study of social polarization and provides an overview of the issues that have been discussed in relation to the polarization debate. I argue that the global city thesis has been misleading and that the empirical work underlying it has been too limited. Thereafter I test the empirical basis for Sassens thesis in an analysis of the distribution of wages in the New York Metropolitan Area during the period 1970 to 1990.

Increased Polarisation or Professionalisation of the Occupational Structure. Is Social Polarisation on the Rise

Abstract Danish Journal of Geography 96: 103–109, 1996. Much of the current interest in processes of restructuring evolves around issues of changing occupational and social structures. While there is broad agreement that economic restructuring has produced a new occupational structure in the Western World, there is a great deal of controversy characterizing the changing structure. This is to be expected since we leave behind us a well-known social structure and are entering another which is still in the process of being shaped. It is suggested in this article that if one is to comprehend the complexity involved when discussing these issues a fruitful starting point would be different welfare state regimes. Furthermore, it is suggested that different types of welfare states produce different occupational structures and to varying degrees, and for various reasons, do they lead to social polarisation. Thus, differences within welfare slate regimes can explain why we are experiencing divergent trajectories in...