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The tail that wags: differences in effective right tail coverage and estimates of wealth inequality

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  • Arthur B. Kennickell

    (Stone Center, City University of New York)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the sensitivity of survey-based estimates of wealth inequality to the quality of the measurement of the upper tail of the distribution. Using data from the 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), it develops a series of illustrative examples to highlight some of the problems in making comparisons of wealth inequality measures when there are specific defects in the measurement of the upper tail of the distribution. The results presented strongly indicate that in the absence of effective controls on the measurement of the upper tail of the wealth distribution, great caution should be the rule in the interpretation of most commonly used measures of wealth inequality from a given survey, comparison of such measures across the waves of the survey, and perhaps even more strongly, comparison across independently designed and managed surveys. A graphical decomposition of the 2013 SCF wealth distribution provides additional insight into the underlying cause of the sensitivity of the inequality measures. The paper concludes with a brief outline of a research program for improving the ability of surveys to provide more meaningful estimates of inequality measures.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joecin:v:17:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s10888-019-09424-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10888-019-09424-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Arthur B. Kennickell, 2017. "Lining Up : Survey and Administrative Data Estimates of Wealth Concentration," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2017-017, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
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    5. Sofie R. Waltl & Robin Chakraborty, 2022. "Missing the wealthy in the HFCS: micro problems with macro implications," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(1), pages 169-203, March.
    6. 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.
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    8. Paul Eckerstorfer & Johannes Halak & Jakob Kapeller & Bernhard Schütz & Florian Springholz & Rafael Wildauer, 2016. "Correcting for the Missing Rich: An Application to Wealth Survey Data," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(4), pages 605-627, December.
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    11. Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2016. "Editor's Choice Wealth Inequality in the United States since 1913: Evidence from Capitalized Income Tax Data," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(2), pages 519-578.
    12. Arthur B kennickell, 2008. "The role of over-sampling of the wealthy in the survey of consumer finances," IFC Bulletins chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), The IFC's contribution to the 56th ISI Session, Lisbon, August 2007, volume 28, pages 403-408, Bank for International Settlements.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Mauricio De Rosa, 2022. "Accumulation, inheritance and wealth distribution: first estimates of the untold half," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 22-07, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    3. Michele Cantarella & Andrea Neri & Giovanna Ranalli, 2021. "Mind the wealth gap: a new allocation method to match micro and macro statistics on household wealth," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 646, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    4. Brian Nolan & Juan C. Palomino & Philippe Van Kerm & Salvatore Morelli, 2022. "Intergenerational wealth transfers in Great Britain from the Wealth and Assets Survey in comparative perspective," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(2), pages 179-199, June.
    5. Sofie R. Waltl & Robin Chakraborty, 2022. "Missing the wealthy in the HFCS: micro problems with macro implications," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(1), pages 169-203, March.
    6. Denisa Naidin & Sofie R. Waltl & Michael Ziegelmeyer, 2022. "Objectified Housing Sales and Rent Prices in Representative Household Surveys: the Impact on Macroeconomic Statistics," LISER Working Paper Series 2022-03, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    7. Carranza, Rafael & De Rosa, Mauricio & Flores, Ignacio, 2023. "Wealth inequality in Latin America," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 119426, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Vladimir Hlasny, 2021. "Parametric representation of the top of income distributions: Options, historical evidence, and model selection," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 1217-1256, September.
    9. Paolo Acciari & Salvatore Morelli, 2020. "Wealth Transfers and Net Wealth at Death: Evidence from the Italian Inheritance Tax Records 1995–2016," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Distribution and Mobility of Income and Wealth, pages 175-203, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Sofie R. Waltl, 2022. "Wealth Inequality: A Hybrid Approach Toward Multidimensional Distributional National Accounts In Europe," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(1), pages 74-108, March.
    11. Marcin Wroński, 2022. "Household wealth in Central and Eastern Europe Explaining the wealth gap between Poland and Hungary," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 53(5), pages 443-474.
    12. Arthur B. Kennickell & Peter Lindner & Martin Schürz, 2022. "A new instrument to measure wealth inequality: distributional wealth accounts," Monetary Policy & the Economy, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue Q4/21.
    13. Kennickell, Arthur B., 2021. "Chasing the Tail: A Generalized Pareto Distribution Approach to Estimating Wealth Inequality," SocArXiv u3zs2, Center for Open Science.

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