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A New Look at Racial Disparities Using a More Comprehensive Wealth Measure

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Abstract

Most research measuring disparities in wealth by race relies on data that exclude resources that are disproportionately important to low-wealth and non-white families, namely defined benefit (DB) pensions and Social Security. This paper finds that once these resources are included, disparities in wealth between white families and Black and Hispanic families are substantially smaller and that they are not rising over time. The powerful equalizing roles of DB pensions and Social Security highlighted here are further motivation for maintaining their fiscal health. This paper also presents results on the wealth of Asian families—typically excluded from most research due to limited sample sizes. Including Asian families is important, however, because they are a rapidly growing segment of the population and they have become the highest-wealth racial group in the United States.

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  • Alice Henriques Volz & Jeffrey P. Thompson, 2021. "A New Look at Racial Disparities Using a More Comprehensive Wealth Measure," Current Policy Perspectives 92970, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedbcq:92970
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    1. Jesse Bricker & Lisa J. Dettling & Alice Henriques Volz & Joanne W. Hsu & Lindsay Jacobs & Kevin B. Moore & Sarah Pack & John Edward Sabelhaus & Jeffrey P. Thompson & Richard Windle, 2017. "Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2013 to 2016: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances," Federal Reserve Bulletin, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.), vol. 103(3), September.
    2. Alvaredo, Facundo & Atkinson, Anthony B. & Morelli, Salvatore, 2018. "Top wealth shares in the UK over more than a century," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 26-47.
    3. James M. Poterba, 2014. "Retirement Security in an Aging Population," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(5), pages 1-30, May.
    4. Lisa J. Dettling & Joanne W. Hsu & Lindsay Jacobs & Kevin B. Moore & Jeffrey P. Thompson, 2017. "Recent Trends in Wealth-Holding by Race and Ethnicity : Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances," FEDS Notes 2017-09-27, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    5. Alice M. Henriques, 2018. "How Does Social Security Claiming Respond to Incentives?: Considering Husbands’ and Wives’ Benefits Separately," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 53(2), pages 382-413.
    6. Jesse Bricker & Alice Henriques & Jacob Krimmel & John Sabelhaus, 2016. "Measuring Income and Wealth at the Top Using Administrative and Survey Data," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 47(1 (Spring), pages 261-331.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. James Poterba & Steven Venti & David Wise, 2011. "The Composition and Drawdown of Wealth in Retirement," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(4), pages 95-118, Fall.
    10. Venoo Kakar & Gerald Eric Daniels & Olga Petrovska, 2019. "Does Student Loan Debt Contribute to Racial Wealth Gaps? A Decomposition Analysis," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 1920-1947, December.
    11. Gustman, Alan L. & Steinmeier, Thomas L., 1999. "Effects of pensions on savings: analysis with data from the health and retirement study," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 271-324, June.
    12. Christian E. Weller & Jeffrey P. Thompson, 2018. "Wealth Inequality More Pronounced Among Asian Americans Than Among Whites," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 61(2), pages 183-202, March.
    13. James Poterba & Steven Venti & David Wise, 2013. "Correction: The Composition and Drawdown of Wealth in Retirement," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 27(4), pages 219-222, Fall.
    14. Feldstein, Martin & Pellechio, Anthony, 1979. "Social Security and Household Wealth Accumulation: New Microeconometric Evidence," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 61(3), pages 361-368, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. John Edward Sabelhaus & Jeffrey P. Thompson, 2021. "Racial Wealth Disparities: Reconsidering the Roles of Human Capital and Inheritance," Working Papers 22-3, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    2. John Edward Sabelhaus & Jeffrey P. Thompson, 2023. "The Limited Role of Intergenerational Transfers for Understanding Racial Wealth Disparities," Current Policy Perspectives 95748, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    3. Nadia Karamcheva & Victoria Perez-Zetune, 2023. "Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Plans and the Distribution of Family Wealth: Working Paper 2023-02," Working Papers 58305, Congressional Budget Office.
    4. Hope Bodenschatz & Gerald Eric Daniels Jr. & Jeffrey P. Thompson, 2023. "Decomposing Lifetime-Earnings Differences between White, Black, and Hispanic Families," Working Papers 23-14, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions

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