About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

92 Fed. Res. Bull. A1 (2006)

handle is hein.journals/fedred92 and id is 1 raw text is: Recent Changes in U.S. Family Finances: Evidence from the 2001 and 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances Brian K. Bucks, Arthur B. Kennickell, and Kevin B. Moore, of the Board's Division of Research and Statistics, prepared this article with assistance from Gerhard Fries and A. Michael Neal. The Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Consumer Finances for 2004 provides insights into changes in family income and net worth since the 2001 survey. The survey shows that, over the 2001 04 period, the median value of real (inflation-adjusted) family income before taxes continued to trend up, rising 1.6 percent, whereas the mean value fell 2.3 percent. Patterns of change were mixed across demographic groups. These results stand in contrast to the strong and broad gains seen for the period between the 1998 and 2001 surveys and to the smaller but similarly broad gains between the 1995 and 1998 surveys (figure 1). Much like median income, median real family net worth in the 2001 04 period increased 1.5 percent, but mean net worth rose 6.3 percent. The increase in wealth appears to have been clearest in the middle income group. Over many other demographic groups, the data show a complex pattern of mixed increases i. b W, i r~idla1 . pd ' ' ,. .- o . P ....-t Median ~ Mean 20 '5 10 5 0 SOURCE: Federal Reserve Board, Survey of Consumer Finances. and decreases in wealth; in some instances, median and mean values moved in opposite directions, a pattern that signals distributional changes within groups. In contrast, the growth in wealth between the 1998 and 2001 surveys and between the 1995 and 1998 surveys was stronger both in the mean and in the median, and the growth was shared by most demographic groups (figure 2). Three key shifts in the 2001 04 period underlie the changes in net worth. First, the strong appreciation of house values and a rise in the rate of homeownership produced a substantial gain in the value of holdings of residential real estate. Second, despite the general recovery of prices in equity markets since 2001, the direct and indirect ownership of stocks declined, as did the typical amount held. Third, the amount of debt relative to total assets increased markedly, and the largest part of that increase was attributable to debt secured by real estate. As debt rose over the period, families devoted more of their incomes to servicing their debts, despite a general decline in interest rates. Also, the fraction of families with large required debt service payments relative to their incomes rose a small amount, and the SOURCE: Federal Reserve Board, Survey of Consumer Finances.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most