Wealth structures and income distribution of US households before and after the Great Recession

Szymborska, Hanna Karolina (2019) Wealth structures and income distribution of US households before and after the Great Recession. Structural change and economic dynamics, 51. pp. 168-185. ISSN 0954-349X

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Abstract

This paper investigates the empirical relationship between household wealth composition and income inequality in the USA, proxied by households’ relative position in the income distribution. Previous research highlights wealth–income interactions as important driver of inequality, but less is known about whether wealth composition is conducive to sustained improvements in relative income across households. Using non-parametric median slope analysis on the U.S. Survey of Consumer Finances between 1989-2013, the paper examines patterns of empirical regularities between wealth composition and relative income, finding significant differences over time and between income, gender, racial, and intergenerational groups. Higher relative holdings of other property, business equity, financial investment, retirement and insurance assets, and secured debt are associated with higher position in the income distribution; to be more resilient to losses after the Great Recession; and not to be enjoyed equally by households in the poorest 20% of income distribution, female, Black/Latino, and millennial households.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strueco.2019.08.011
Dates:	Date Event 8 September 2019 Published Online 30 August 2019 Accepted
Subjects:	CAH15 - social sciences > CAH15-02 - economics > CAH15-02-01 - economics
Divisions:	Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > Birmingham City Business School
Depositing User:	Hanna Szymborska
Date Deposited:	17 Jan 2020 11:29
Last Modified:	22 Mar 2023 11:49
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/8604

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