The fact that nearly all the developed countries have experienced growing income inequality since about 1980 suggests that their responses to the changing requirements of technology and globalization have been inadequate. Increased domestic income disparities reflect the failure to adjust sufficiently to new circumstances. Educational and training programs have not kept up with changes in the labor market.

The problem here is that it is not possible to anticipate the knowledge that new technologies require before those technologies appear. Similarly, it is all but impossible to know in advance the skill requirements of the industries that could absorb the workers displaced by globalization. As a result, education and training programs must always play catch-up. The people who develop curriculums must first understand the changed pattern of labor demand. Only then can they retool in order to provide workers with the skills that are in increased demand in the labor market. Even so, it takes time for an adequate supply of newly educated workers to make their presence felt. For these reasons, even under the best circumstances, rapid technological change can be expected to induce growing income inequality. Thus, it falls to the political process to provide counterweights to the growth in income disparities that are all too likely to appear in labor markets during periods of rapid technological change.