scholarly journals Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2016 to 2019: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances

2020 ◽  
Vol 106 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Bhutta ◽  
◽  
Jesse Bricker ◽  
Andrew C. Chang ◽  
Lisa J. Dettling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Survey Of Consumer Finances ◽  
Net Worth ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Financial Condition ◽  
Consumer Finances ◽  
Family Finances ◽  
Almost All

The Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances for 2019 provides insights into the evolution of family income and net worth since the previous time the survey was conducted in 2016. The survey shows that over the 2016–19 period, the median value of real (inflation-adjusted) family income before taxes rose 5 percent, and mean income decreased 3 percent. Real median net worth increased 18 percent, and mean net worth rose 2 percent. This survey marks the first in the aftermath of the Great Recession in which between-survey changes in the median outpaced changes in the mean for either measure, indicating that families in large parts of both distributions enjoyed gains in economic well-being. And, while the data also reveal some disparities in the evolution of income and net worth since 2016 across families differentiated by economic characteristics, such as income or wealth, and demographic characteristics, such as age, education, or race and ethnicity, many groups with historically lower income and net worth saw relatively large gains. This article reviews these and other changes in the financial condition of U.S. families, including developments in assets, liabilities, debt payments, and credit market experiences. The findings in this article do not reflect the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on family finances, as almost all of the data in the 2019 survey were collected before the onset of the pandemic.

Disparate Recoveries: Wealth, Race, and the Working Class after the Great Recession

2021 ◽  
Vol 695 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-192
Author(s):  
Fenaba R. Addo ◽  
William A. Darity
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Great Recession ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Net Worth ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Consumer Finances ◽  
White Working Class ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

What does it mean to be working class in a society of extreme racial wealth inequality? Using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, we investigate the wealth holdings of Black, Latinx, and white working-class households during the post–Great Recession (pre–COVID-19) period that spanned 2010 to 2019. We then explore the relationship between working-class and middle-class attainment using a wealth-based metric. We find that, in terms of their net worth, fewer Black working-class households benefitted from the economic recovery than white working-class households. Among white households, the working class saw the greatest increase in wealth in both absolute and relative terms. Working-class households were less likely to be middle class as defined by their wealth holdings, and Black and Latinx households were also less likely to be middle class. For Black households, racial identity is a stronger predictor of wealth attainment than occupational sector.

The Relationship Between Credit Card Use Behavior and Household Well-Being During the Great Recession: Implications for the Ethics of Credit Use

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Hunter ◽  
Claudia J. Heath
Keyword(s):  
Great Recession ◽  
Credit Card ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Financial Condition ◽  
Use Behavior ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Credit Card Use

This article uses a random digit dial probability sample (N = 328) to examine the relationship between credit card use behaviors and household well-being during a period of severe economic recession: The Great Recession. The ability to measure the role of credit card use during a period of recession provides unique insights to the study of credit behavior because of the knowledge that all respondents have the same macroeconomic constraint. Framed by the assumptions of the permanent income hypothesis and the life-cycle savings hypothesis, multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the relationship between credit card use behaviors and three measures of household well-being: emotional well-being, financial well-being, and general household financial condition.

scholarly journals Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2013 to 2016: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances

2017 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 0-0 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse Bricker ◽  
◽  
Lisa J. Dettling ◽  
Alice M. Henriques ◽  
Joanne W. Hsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Survey Of Consumer Finances ◽  
Consumer Finances ◽  
Family Finances

scholarly journals Recent Changes in U.S. Family Finances: Results from the 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances

2000 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
Arthur B. Kennickell ◽  
◽  
Martha Starr-McCluer ◽  
Brian J. Surette
Keyword(s):  
Survey Of Consumer Finances ◽  
Consumer Finances ◽  
Family Finances

Experimental Measures of Poverty and Net Worth: 1996

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Short ◽  
Patricia Ruggles
Keyword(s):  
Family Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Poverty Measurement ◽  
Program Participation ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Net Worth ◽  
Poverty Status ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
The Relationship

The National Academy of Sciences report on poverty measurement recommended changes to the official measure of poverty in the USA. That report from a panel of experts suggested that it is important to examine the relationship between asset ownership in relation to poverty status. This paper suggests that debt is also an important determinant of economic well-being. While spending down assets can enhance income to make ends meet, servicing debt can be a drain on family income that would otherwise be sufficient to purchase basic necessities. This paper uses data from the 1996 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine these issues.

scholarly journals Racial and Ethnic Differences in Consumers’ Economic Expectations

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 237802311881527
Author(s):  
Megan Doherty Bea
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Differences ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ethnic Composition ◽  
Ethnic Variation ◽  
Survey Of Consumer Finances ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Differences ◽  
Consumer Finances ◽  
Economic Expectations ◽  
Economic Experiences

Consumers’ expectations about the future of their own finances and the macroeconomy are used to forecast consumption, but forecasts do not typically account for differences by race and ethnicity. In this report, the author asks (1) whether there is consistent racial and ethnic variation in consumers’ economic expectations, (2) if differences can be explained by economic experiences, and (3) how the scope of expectations matters. The author uses the Survey of Consumer Finances to examine variation in the likelihood of positive national and personal economic expectations among individuals who identify as black, white, or Hispanic. The author finds that national expectations have substantial racial and ethnic variation net of economic experiences. For personal expectations, initial racial and ethnic variation in the likelihood of positive expectations disappears once economic experiences are accounted for. These findings have important implications for consumption forecasts, especially as the racial and ethnic composition of the United States changes.

scholarly journals Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2010 to 2013: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances

2014 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 0-0 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse Bricker ◽  
◽  
Lisa J. Dettling ◽  
Alice M. Henriques ◽  
Joanne W. Hsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Survey Of Consumer Finances ◽  
Consumer Finances ◽  
Family Finances
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