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Measuring wealth and wealth inequality: Comparing two U.S. surveys

Author

Listed:
  • Pfeffer, Fabian T.

    (University of Michigan)

  • Schoeni, Robert F.

    (University of Michigan)

  • Kennickell, Arthur

    (Federal Reserve System)

  • Andreski, Patricia

    (University of Michigan)

Abstract

Household wealth and its distribution are topics of broad public debate and increasing scholarly interest. We compare the relative strength of two of the main data sources used in research on the wealth holdings of U.S. households, the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), by providing a description and explanation of differences in the level and distribution of wealth captured in these two surveys. We identify the factors that account for differences in average net worth but also show that estimates of net worth are similar throughout most of the distribution. Median net worth in the SCF is 6% higher than in the PSID and the largest differences between the two surveys are concentrated in the 1-2 percent wealthiest households, leading to a different view of wealth concentration at the very top but similar results for wealth inequality across most of the distribution.

Suggested Citation

  • Pfeffer, Fabian T. & Schoeni, Robert F. & Kennickell, Arthur & Andreski, Patricia, 2016. "Measuring wealth and wealth inequality: Comparing two U.S. surveys," Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, IOS Press, issue 2, pages 103-120.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:iosjes:0051
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Alina K. Bartscher & Moritz Kuhn & Moritz Schularick & Ulrike I. Steins, 2020. "Modigliani Meets Minsky: Inequality, Debt, and Financial Fragility in America, 1950-2016," Staff Reports 924, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    2. Fisher, Jonathan D. & Johnson, David S. & Smeeding, Timothy M. & Thompson, Jeffrey P., 2020. "Estimating the marginal propensity to consume using the distributions of income, consumption, and wealth," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Alice Henriques Volz & Lindsay Jacobs & Elizabeth Llanes & Kevin B. Moore & Jeffrey P. Thompson, 2021. "Wealth Concentration in the United States Using an Expanded Measure of Net Worth," Working Papers 21-6, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    4. Arthur B. Kennickell, 2019. "The tail that wags: differences in effective right tail coverage and estimates of wealth inequality," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 17(4), pages 443-459, December.
    5. Pfeffer, Fabian T. & Waitkus, Nora, 2021. "The Wealth Inequality of Nations," SocArXiv 6msuf, Center for Open Science.
    6. Xiaoqing Zhou, 2018. "Home Equity Extraction and the Boom-Bust Cycle in Consumption and Residential Investment," 2018 Meeting Papers 795, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    7. Frank M. Fossen & Johannes König & Carsten Schröder, 2024. "Risk preference and entrepreneurial investment at the top of the wealth distribution," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 66(2), pages 735-761, February.
    8. Stephen Snudden, 2024. "Leverage and Rate of Return Heterogeneity Among U.S. Households," LCERPA Working Papers jc0150, Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis, revised Dec 2024.
    9. Alina K. Bartscher & Moritz Kuhn & Moritz Schularick, 2020. "The College Wealth Divide: Education and Inequality in America, 1956-2016," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 102(1), pages 19-49.
    10. Ulrike Malmendier & Leslie Sheng Shen, 2024. "Scarred Consumption," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 322-355, January.
    11. Brant Abbott & Giovanni Gallipoli, 2022. "Permanent‐income inequality," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 13(3), pages 1023-1060, July.
    12. Elliott, William & Rauscher, Emily & Nam, Ilsung, 2018. "Unequal returns: Intragenerational asset accumulation differs by net worth in early adulthood," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 253-263.
    13. Barnette, Justin, 2020. "Wealth After Job Displacement," MPRA Paper 103642, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Benjamin Loos & Steffen Meyer & Michaela Pagel, 2020. "The Consumption Effects of the Disposition to Sell Winners and Hold Losers," NBER Working Papers 26668, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Moritz Kuhn & Gašper Ploj, 2020. "Job Stability, Earnings Dynamics, and Life-Cycle Savings," CESifo Working Paper Series 8710, CESifo.
    16. Nathan Seltzer, 2019. "Beyond the Great Recession: Labor Market Polarization and Ongoing Fertility Decline in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1463-1493, August.
    17. Alice Henriques Volz & Lindsay Jacobs & Elizabeth Llanes & Kevin B. Moore & Jeffrey P. Thompson, 2020. "Wealth Distribution and Retirement Preparation among Early Savers," Working Papers 20-4, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    18. Fabian T. Pfeffer & Nora Waitkus, 2020. "The Wealth Inequality of Nations," LWS Working papers 33, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    19. Stephen Snudden, 2024. "Idiosyncratic Asset Return and Wage Risk of US Households," LCERPA Working Papers jc0144, Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis.
    20. Xun Bian & Zhenguo Lin & Feifei Zhu, 2024. "Housing leverage, home value, and retirement," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 52(4), pages 1103-1139, July.
    21. Christian Bayer & Luis Calderon & Moritz Kuhn, 2025. "Distributional Dynamics," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2025_625, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    22. Abbott, Brant & Brace, Robin, 2020. "Has consumption inequality mirrored wealth inequality in the Survey of Consumer Finances?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    23. Fabian T. Pfeffer, 2018. "Growing Wealth Gaps in Education," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(3), pages 1033-1068, June.
    24. Christian Bayer & Luis Calderon & Moritz Kuhn, 2025. "Distributional Dynamics," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 351, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wealth; inequality; measurement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values

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