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Research Article
Open Access

Household Wealth Trends in the United States, 1962 to 2013: What Happened over the Great Recession?

Edward N. Wolff
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences October 2016, 2 (6) 24-43; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2016.2.6.02
Edward N. Wolff
aProfessor of economics at New York University, research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and editorial board member of the Journal of Economic Inequality and the Review of Income and Wealth
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REFERENCES

  1. ↵
    Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 2016. “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey.” Washington: U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed May 13, 2016. http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000.
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    Council of Economic Advisers. 2013. 2013 Economic Report of the President. Washington: Government Printing Office. Accessed May 13, 2016. https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/erp2013/full_2013_economic_report_of_the_president.pdf.
  3. ↵
    1. Devlin-Foltz, Sebastian,
    2. Alice Henriques, , and
    3. John Sabelhaus
    . 2016. “Is the U.S. Retirement System Contributing to Rising Wealth Inequality.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 2(6). doi: 10.7758/RSF.2016.2.6.04.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
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    Dow Jones. 2013. “S&P Composite 1500.” Accessed May 13, 2016. http://us.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-composite-1500.
  5. ↵
    1. Kennickell, Arthur B., and
    2. R. Louise Woodburn
    . 1999. “Consistent Weight Design for the 1989, 1992, and 1995 SCFs, and the Distribution of Wealth.” Review of Income and Wealth Series 45(2)(June): 193–216.
    OpenUrl
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    National Association of Realtors. 2012. “Median Sales Price of Existing Single-Family Homes for Metropolitan Areas.” Accessed May 13, 2016. http://www.realtor.org/sites/default/files/reports/2012/embargoes/2012-q1-metro-home-prices-49bc10b1efdc1b8cc3eb66dbcdad55f7/metro-home-prices-q1-single-family-2012-05-09.pdf.
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    National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). 2010. “U.S. Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions.” Cambridge, Mass.: NBER. Accessed May 13, 2016. http://www.nber.org/cycles/cyclesmain.html.
  8. ↵
    1. Pfeffer, Fabian T., and
    2. Robert F. Schoeni
    . 2016. “How Wealth Inequality Shapes Our Future.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 2(6). doi: 10.7758/RSF.2016.2.6.01.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  9. ↵
    1. Saez, Emmanuel, and
    2. Gabriel Zucman
    . 2015. “Wealth Inequality in the United States since 1913: Evidence from Capitalized Income Tax Data,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 128(4)(October): 1687–724.
    OpenUrl
  10. Survey of Consumer Finances. Various years. Public use dataset distributed by the Board of Governors of the Federal Research System (downloaded 2015).
  11. Survey of Financial Characteristics of Consumers. Various years. Public use dataset distributed by the Board of Governors of the Federal Research System (downloaded 2015).
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    U.S. Census Bureau. 2008. Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2009, 128th ed. Washington: Government Printing Office. Accessed May 13, 2016. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2008/compendia/statab/128ed.html.
  13. Wolff, Edward N. 1980. “Estimates of the 1969 Size Distribution of Household Wealth in the U.S from a Synthetic Data Base.” In Modeling the Distribution and Intergenerational Transmission of Wealth, edited by James D. Smith. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
  14. ↵
    1. Wolff, Edward N
    . 1994. “Trends in Household Wealth in the United States, 1962–1983 and 1983–1989.” Review of Income and Wealth 40(2)(June): 143–74.
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    1. Wolff, Edward N
    . 1998. “Recent Trends in the Size Distribution of Household Wealth.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 12(3)(Summer): 131–50.
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  16. ↵
    Wolff, Edward N. 2002. Top Heavy: A Study of Increasing Inequality of Wealth in America, updated and expanded edition. New York: The New Press.
  17. ↵
    Wolff, Edward N. 2011. “Recent Trends in Household Wealth in the U.S.: Rising Debt and the Middle Class Squeeze.” In Economics of Wealth in the 21st Century, edited by Jason M. Gonzales. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Nova Science Publishers.
  18. ↵
    Wolff, Edward N. 2015. Inheriting Wealth in America: Future Boom or Bust? New York: Oxford University Press.
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RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences: 2 (6)
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Vol. 2, Issue 6
1 Oct 2016
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Household Wealth Trends in the United States, 1962 to 2013: What Happened over the Great Recession?
Edward N. Wolff
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Oct 2016, 2 (6) 24-43; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2016.2.6.02

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Household Wealth Trends in the United States, 1962 to 2013: What Happened over the Great Recession?
Edward N. Wolff
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Oct 2016, 2 (6) 24-43; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2016.2.6.02
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
    • DATA SOURCES AND METHODS
    • MEDIAN WEALTH PLUMMETS OVER THE GREAT RECESSION
    • WEALTH INEQUALITY JUMPS IN THE LATE 2000S
    • HOUSEHOLD DEBT FINALLY RECEDES
    • THE ROLE OF LEVERAGE IN EXPLAINING WEALTH TRENDS
    • CONCLUDING REMARKS
    • Acknowledgments
    • FOOTNOTES
    • REFERENCES
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
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  • household wealth
  • inequality
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