Wealth concentration in the U.S. after augmenting the upper tail of the survey of consumer finances

The purpose of this study is to help marketers recognize, understand and respond to the underserved African-American financial services market in the U.S. To do so, the study examines demographic trends and financial consumption patterns of African-American consumers, drawing on the most recent Survey of Consumer Finances to explore the principal differences between black and white households asset holdings and financial product and service preferences. Findings indicate that the African-American market has grown rapidly in size and viability over the past decade, and that African-American consumers differ markedly from their white counterparts in terms of financial product preferences and investment portfolio composition. The difference between the two segments is especially evident in the case of relatively more risky, but higher return, financial products. Based on these findings it is apparent that marketers should endeavor to reach this increasingly attractive but underserved segment of the U.S. financial services marketplace.

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Federal Wealth Policy and the Perpetuation of White Supremacy

The Review of Black Political Economy ◽

10.1177/00346446211000821 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 003464462110008

Author(s):

Robert B. Williams

Keyword(s):

White Supremacy ◽

Household Wealth ◽

Wealth Accumulation ◽

Survey Of Consumer Finances ◽

The Past ◽

Consumer Finances ◽

Tax Exemptions ◽

Tax Deductions ◽

Tax Benefits ◽

The U.S

Since its inception, the U.S. government has strongly promoted the expansion of White wealth. These past policies have created the current wealth gaps in which White households typically hold >10 times the wealth held by Black or Latinx households. The tradition continues today. Using nine tax deductions, the federal government currently supports household wealth accumulation by nearly $640 billion annually. Although they make no overt mention of race, these tax exemptions are designed specifically to help wealthier households. Using evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances, this article estimates the racial shares of these tax benefits and shows a clear pattern of racial favoritism. In addition, repeated efforts to eliminate the estate and gift taxes mean more intergenerational wealth is tax-exempted. As in the past, our current federal wealth policies are promoting White supremacy.

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A Wealth of Information: Augmenting the Survey of Consumer Finances to Characterize the Full U.S. Wealth Distribution

Finance and Economics Discussion Series ◽

10.17016/feds.2021.053 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 (049) ◽

pp. 1-37

Author(s):

Jesse Bricker ◽

◽

Sarena Goodman ◽

Kevin B. Moore ◽

Alice Henriques Volz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wealth Distribution ◽

Economic Recovery ◽

Survey Of Consumer Finances ◽

Consumer Finances ◽

Wealth Concentration ◽

Comprehensive Framework

We use the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to advance U.S. wealth analysis along several dimensions. We develop a comprehensive framework that modifies the SCF to recover the wealth distribution over families, tax units, and individuals from 1989 to 2019. We show that, by ignoring unequal holdings within families, existing estimates considerably understate U.S. inequality across individuals. We find wealth concentration rose through the recent economic recovery, which differs from leading models that capitalize income into wealth even after aligning conceptual differences. We illustrate that private businesses are a growing impediment to accurately modeling wealth from income.

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Household Mobility Over the Great Recession : Evidence from the U.S. 2007-09 Survey of Consumer Finances Panel

Finance and Economics Discussion Series ◽

10.17016/feds.2013.53 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 (53) ◽

pp. 1-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jesse Bricker ◽

◽

Brian Bucks

Keyword(s):

Great Recession ◽

Survey Of Consumer Finances ◽

The Great Recession ◽

Consumer Finances ◽

Household Mobility ◽

The U.S

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What Do We Know about the Evolution of Top Wealth Shares in the United States?

The Journal of Economic Perspectives ◽

10.1257/jep.29.1.47 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 47-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Wojciech Kopczuk

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Fixed Income ◽

Survey Of Consumer Finances ◽

Estate Tax ◽

Consumer Finances ◽

Wealth Concentration ◽

Top Incomes ◽

Mortality Improvements ◽

Over Time

I discuss available evidence about the evolution of top wealth shares in the United States over the course of the 20th century. The three main approaches—the Survey of Consumer Finances, estate tax multiplier, and capitalization methods—generate generally consistent findings until mid-1980s but diverge since then, with the capitalization method showing a dramatic increase in wealth concentration and the other two methods showing at best a small increase. I discuss strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. The increase in capitalization estimates since 2000 is driven by a dramatic and puzzling increase in fixed income assets. There is evidence that estate tax estimates may not be sufficiently accounting for mortality improvements over time. The nonresponse and coverage issues in the SCF are a concern. I conclude that the changing nature of top incomes and the increased importance of self-made wealth may explain difficulties in implementing each of the methods and why the results diverge.

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