Volume 30, Number 5 1995
Smith, James P. 1995. "Racial and Ethnic Differences in Wealth in the Health and Retirement Study." Journal of Human Resources 30(5):S158-S183.
This paper examines wealth data in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). In comparison with asset data in other major surveys, the quality of HRS asset data is high. Missing asset data does remain a problem, however, to which future HRS analysts must remain sensitive. Evidence is presented showing that it is no accident that asset data are missing, and solutions for imputing missing data are developed. Finally, racial and ethnic wealth disparities are large. These minority wealth disparities are due in part to differential inheritances and desired bequests as inequities perpetuate themselves across generations; the disparities are also due to lower minority incomes, poorer health, and an excessively narrow definition of wealth that excludes Social Security and employer pensions.
James P. Smith is a senior economist at the RAND Corporation. This research was supported by Grant 5PO1-AG08291, awarded by the National Institute on Aging, DHHS and Grant 5P50-HD12639, awarded by the National Institute of Child and Human Development. The author wishes to thank Tom Juster, John Laitner, and Duncan Thomas for their comments; and Rachel Louie, Iva Maclennan, and David Rumpel for their excellent programming assistance. The data used in this article are from the alpha release of the HRS.
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