Barber wages rise over time even though barbers don't get faster at cutting hair. The reason is that as productivity rises generally and people have more opportunities, barbers have to be compensated to be barbers rather than doing something else. This illustrates that growing the overall economy and expanding opportunity is what raises service sector wages, not skill development in those sectors.
causalpending
Speaker
David AutorEvidence Quote
“why do the wages of barbers rise over time? They're not getting any faster...they have to be compensated to be barbers as opposed to being something else...if there aren't that many people available you'll have to pay them more [34:42]”
Created: 8/11/2026, 6:32:32 AM
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