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Household Wealth, Public Consumption and Economic Well-Being in the United States

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  • Edward N. Wolff
  • Ajit Zacharias
  • Asena Caner

Abstract

Standard official measures of economic well-being are based on money income. The general consensus is that such measures are seriously flawed because they ignore several crucial determinants of well-being. We examine two such determinants--household wealth and public consumption--in the context of the United States. Our findings suggest that the level and distribution of economic well-being is substantially altered when money income is adjusted for wealth or public consumption.

Suggested Citation

  • Edward N. Wolff & Ajit Zacharias & Asena Caner, 2003. "Household Wealth, Public Consumption and Economic Well-Being in the United States," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_386, Levy Economics Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_386
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Asena Caner & Edward N. Wolff, 2002. "Asset Poverty in the United States, 1984-1999: Evidence from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_356, Levy Economics Institute.
    2. Ruggles, Patricia & O'Higgins, Michael, 1981. "The Distribution of Public Expenditure among Households in the United States," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 27(2), pages 137-164, June.
    3. Timothy M. Smeeding & Daniel H. Weinberg, 2001. "Toward a Uniform Definition of Household Income," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 47(1), pages 1-24, March.
    4. Patricia Ruggles & Michael O'Higgins, 1981. "The Distribution Of Public Expenditure Among Households In The United States," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 27(2), pages 137-164, June.
    5. Edward N. Wolff & Ajit Zacharias, 2003. "The Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_372, Levy Economics Institute.
    6. Asena Caner & Edward Wolff, 2004. "Asset Poverty in the United States, 1984-1999," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 5-52.
    7. Donald L. Lerman & James J. Mikesell, 1988. "Impacts of Adding Net Worth to the Poverty Definition," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 357-370, Oct-Dec.
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    Cited by:

    1. Deborah Cobb-Clark, 2007. "Pushing the boundaries of immigration research: What can we learn from New Zealand?," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 123-130.
    2. Constantin Anghelache & Madalina Gabriela Anghel & Marius Popovici, 2015. "Multiple Regressions Used in Analysis of Private Consumption and Public Final Consumption Evolution," International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, vol. 5(4), pages 69-73, October.
    3. Francisco Azpitarte, 2010. "The household wealth distribution in Spain: The role of housing and financial wealth," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 194(3), pages 65-90, October.
    4. Fabio Boncinelli & Leonardo Casini, 2014. "A Comparison of the Well-Being of Agricultural and Non Agricultural Households Using a Multicriterial Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 119(1), pages 183-195, October.
    5. Francisco Azpitarte, 2008. "The Household Wealth Distribution in Spain: The Role of Housing and Financial Wealth," Working Papers 83, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    6. Teixidó, Jordi J. & Verde, Stefano F., 2017. "Is the Gasoline Tax Regressive in the Twenty-First Century? Taking Wealth into Account," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 109-125.
    7. Antonio Jurado & Jesus Perez-Mayo, 2012. "Construction and Evolution of a Multidimensional Well-Being Index for the Spanish Regions," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 107(2), pages 259-279, June.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State
    • P17 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Performance and Prospects

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