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. 2017 Jul:43:379-404.
doi: 10.1146/annurev-soc-060116-053331. Epub 2017 May 10.

WEALTH INEQUALITY AND ACCUMULATION

Alexandra Killewald  1 , Fabian T Pfeffer  2 , Jared N Schachner  1
Affiliations

WEALTH INEQUALITY AND ACCUMULATION

Alexandra Killewald et al. Annu Rev Sociol. 2017 Jul.

Abstract

Research on wealth inequality and accumulation and the data upon which it relies have expanded substantially in the twenty-first century. While the field has experienced rapid growth, conceptual and methodological challenges remain. We begin by discussing two major unresolved methodological concerns facing wealth research: how to address challenges to causal inference posed by wealth's cumulative nature and how to operationalize net worth, given its highly skewed nature. To underscore the need for continued empirical attention to net worth, we review trends in wealth levels and inequality and evaluate wealth's distinctiveness as an indicator of social stratification. Next, we provide an overview of data sources available for wealth research. We then review recent empirical evidence on the effects of wealth on other social outcomes, as well as research on the determinants of wealth. We close with a list of promising avenues for future research on wealth, its causes, and its consequences.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Wealth-income correlations by survey and specification (2013) Note: Data are from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). The first block of PSID correlations is based on a single year (analogous to the SCF), while the second block averages income measures over as many reports as are available in a ten-year span. PSID data are aggregated from the family to the household unit level to make estimates comparable to the SCF. Analytic samples are restricted to households with a household head aged 25 to 64.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Wealth-income correlations by survey and age (2013, percentiles) Note: Data are from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). The first block of PSID correlations is based on a single year (analogous to the SCF), while the second block averages income measures over as many reports as are available in a ten-year span. PSID data are aggregated from the family to the household unit level to make estimates comparable to the SCF. Analytic samples are restricted to households with a household head aged 25 to 64.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Wealth-income correlations by survey, year, and income type (percentiles) Note: Data are from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). The first block of PSID correlations is based on a single year (analogous to the SCF), while the second block averages income measures over as many reports as are available in a ten-year span. PSID data are aggregated from the family to the household unit level to make estimates comparable to the SCF. Analytic samples are restricted to households with a household head aged 25 to 64.
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