Using the Survey of Consumer Finances in Federal Reserve Board Policy Analysis

• Activity Number: 162
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 5, 2013 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Survey Research Methods Section
• Author(s): John Sabelhaus*+ and Kevin Moore and Jesse Bricker
• Companies: Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Board
• Keywords: Suvery of Consumer Finances ; Federal Reserve Board

Abstract

The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) has been an indispensable tool for policy analysis for the Federal Reserve Board since the first modern SCF was fielded in 1983. The breadth and scope of the data in the SCF, combined with the unique sample design that provides unparalleled coverage of the top of the wealth distribution, allows policy makers to better understand the evolution of household balance sheets and household financial behavior. Our paper will provide an overview and examples of the key areas where the SCF provides important information to policy makers. In addition to the well-known estimates of household wealth and measures of wealth inequality, the SCF is used to study a variety of household finance issues, such as portfolio composition, financial vulnerability, pension coverage, education loans, savings behavior and to analyze changes to household balance sheets. The SCF is also used to study many other issues, including house price indices, financial institutions, tax policies, deposit insurance, and bank market structure.