Evaluating Micro-Survey Estimates of Wealth and Saving

66 Pages Posted: 26 Mar 2009

See all articles by Barry Bosworth

Barry Bosworth

Brookings Institution - Economic Studies Program

Rosanna Smart

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: January 1, 2009

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of changes in household wealth accumulation and saving using wealth data from three micro-level surveys: Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), and Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We provide comparisons to the macroeconomic estimates of wealth accumulation and saving, explore problems in constructing household-level valuations of wealth, and assess the value of using household-level data sets to examine wealth accumulation and saving behavior in the United States.

Our first analysis compares the macroeconomic estimates of wealth from the Flow of Funds to comparable measures from the SCF, PSID and HRS. The Flow of Funds and SCF valuations of net worth correspond closely up to 1998. Yet, after1998, the SCF reports a much more rapid acceleration of wealth, concentrated in equity-type assets. The estimates of wealth in the PSID and HRS are very similar to the SCF for the bottom 95 percent of the wealth distribution, diverging only for the top five percent of households.

Suggested Citation

Bosworth, Barry and Smart, Rosanna, Evaluating Micro-Survey Estimates of Wealth and Saving (January 1, 2009). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1368830 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1368830

Barry Bosworth (Contact Author)

Brookings Institution - Economic Studies Program ( email )

1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
United States
202-797-6000 (Phone)
202-797-6181 (Fax)

Rosanna Smart

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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