Wealth of a Nation: A Reassessment of Asset Inequality in America Shows At Least One Third of Households Are Asset‐poor

In: The American journal of economics and sociology, Band 49, Heft 2, S. 129-151

Abstract

Abstract. In order to determine whether the distribution of wealth in American society uncovers deeper fault lines of inequality than income alone, data from the 1984 Survey of Income and Program Participation is examined. The findings indicate that: (1) aggregate shares of wealth held by households are distributed far more unevenly than income shares, with extreme concentrations at the upper levels; (2) the data on wealth shows that the condition of black America is far more precarious, marginalized, and unequal than was thought previously; (3) single and separated women hold few assets in comparison with their male from SIPP using the weights provided by the U.S. Census which approximates the U.S. population. Parallel analyses conducted on the weighted and unweighted samples showed similar results. 3. For a detailed analysis of black‐white differences in wealth see Oliver and Shapiro (1989).