Measuring Wealth and Wealth Inequality: Comparing Two U.S. Surveys.

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.

What is the difference? Evidence on the distribution of wealth, health, life expectancy, and health insurance coverage.

There is a literature of long standing that considers the relationship between income and differentials in mortality and morbidity, but information on differentials over the distribution of accumulated wealth have been far more scarce and subject to measurement problems. This paper provides evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances, which is designed as a survey of wealth, on the distribution of wealth and income and how those distributions have shifted in recent years. Particular attention is paid to the distribution of wealth across minority groups and across age groups. The paper also examines the relationship between wealth and health status, life expectancy, and health insurance coverage.