Wealth Poverty: Measurement, Prevalence, Determinants

We review the emerging literature on wealth poverty, defined as the lack of sufficient assets to sustain minimally adequate living standards, buffer shocks, or meet basic needs. This condition appears under multiple labels, including asset poverty, liquid-asset poverty, or net-worth poverty, but the underlying question is shared: how much economic insecurity remains invisible when insufficient wealth is not taken into account? We synthesize scholarship on three issues. First, we examine how researchers define wealth, choose thresholds, and distinguish stock-based, annuitized, and multidimensional approaches. Second, we review evidence on prevalence, showing that wealth poverty is widespread, only partially overlaps with income poverty, and varies sharply by asset definition, household structure, and institutional context. Third, we assess micro- and macro-level determinants, highlighting how stratification and policy regimes jointly structure households’ capacity to accumulate and retain assets. We also provide practical guidelines for future research on how to conceptualize and operationalize wealth poverty. (Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Working Paper)