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Abstract:
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Data on the value of people's assets and debts are particularly difficult to collect because respondents often cannot provide balances without consulting records, which may not be readily accessible. Moreover, the value of certain major assets, such as a home, property or business, is not typically available from any records. These factors are compounded by the sensitive nature of wealth holdings, resulting in high item nonresponse and substantial error in reported values. Some policy applications of wealth data---assessing program eligibility---require greater accuracy than the data are able to provide. This paper examines the measurement of wealth in four surveys: Survey of Income and Program Participation, Survey of Consumer Finances, Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the Health and Retirement Survey. Estimates are presented for the entire and policy relevant subpopulations.
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