However, disentangling these influences is difficult, as technology is a major determinant of the organisation of international supply chains (OECD, 2011c). Reforms undertaken by most OECD countries, including the United Kingdom, since the 1980s to increase competition in product markets and make labour markets more flexible have generally been positive for employment, which tends to reduce inequality, but have also widened wage disparities. These opposite effects tend to offset each other (OECD, 2011c).