Working Papers

Estimating Top Income and Wealth Shares: Sensitivity to Data and Methods
Jesse Bricker, Alice Henriques, Jacob Krimmel, John Sabelhaus, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), October 2016

Has Tax-Preferred Retirement Saving Offset Rising Wealth Concentration?
Sebastian Devlin-Foltz, Alice Henriques, John Sabelhaus, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), July 2016

The Role of Social Security in Overall Retirement Resoures: A Distributional Perspective
Sebastian Devlin-Foltz, Alice Henriques, John Sabelhaus, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), July 2016

Measuring Income and Wealth at the Top Using Administrative and Survey Data
Jesse Bricker, Alice Henriques, Jacob Krimmel, John Sabelhaus, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), April 2016

Is the U.S. Retirement System: Contributing to Rising Wealth Inequality?
Sebastian J. Devlin-Foltz, Alice Henriques, John Sabelhaus, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), October 2015

Heterogeneity in Economic Shocks and Household Spending
Sebastian J. Devlin-Foltz, John Sabelhaus, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), September 2015

The Increase in Wealth Concentration, 1989-2013
Jesse Bricker, Alice Henriques, Jacob Krimmel, John Sabelhaus, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), June 2015

Comparing Micro and Macro Sources for Household Accounts in the United States: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances
Lisa Dettling, Sebastian Devlin-Foltz, Jacob Krimmel, Sarah Pack, Jeffrey Thompson, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), June 2015

Changes in the Distribution of After-Tax Wealth: Has Income Tax Policy Increased Wealth Inequality?
Adam Looney, Brookings Institution, Kevin Moore, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), June 2015

The Evolution of Retirement Wealth
Sebastian Devlin-Foltz, Alice M. Henriques, John Sabelhaus, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), February 2015

Contacting Strategies and Increased Incentives during the Field Period: Evidence from the SCF
Jesse Bricker, Richard Windle, Federal Reserve Board, Micah Sjoblom, NORC
Paper (PDF), October 2014

Examining Interviewer-Respondent Interactions in the SCF
Jesse Bricker, Kevin Moore, Richard Windle, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), October 2014

The State of Young Adults' Balance Sheets: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances
Lisa J. Dettling, Joanne W. Hsu, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), October 2014

Survey Incentives, Survey Effort, and Survey Cost
Jesse Bricker, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), September 2014

Shared Understanding and Data Quality in the SCF
Jesse Bricker, Arthur Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), October 2013

Are Homeowners in Denial about their House Values? Comparing Owner Perceptions with Transaction-Based Indexes
Alice M. Henriques, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), September 2013

Analysis of Wealth Using Micro and Macro Data: A Comparison of the Survey of Consumer Finances And Flow of Funds Accounts
Alice M. Henriques, Joanne W. Hsu, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (HTML Version), May 2013

Estate vs. Capital Gains Taxation: An Evaluation of Prospective Policies for Taxing Wealth at the Time of Death
Robert B. Avery, Daniel Grodzicki, Kevin B. Moore
Paper (PDF), April 2013

Early Withdrawals from Retirement Accounts During the Great Recession
Robert Argento, John Sabelhaus, Federal Reserve Board, Victoria L. Bryant, IRS
Paper (PDF), March 2013

The Effect of Self-Reported Transitory Income Shocks on Household Spending
Samuel Ackerman, John Sabelhaus, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), August 2012

What's the Chance? Interviewers' Expectations of Response in the 2010 SCF
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), September 2012

Look Again: Editing and Imputation of SCF Panel Data
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), August 2011

Try, Try Again: Response and Nonresponse in the 2009 SCF Panel
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), September 2010

Getting to the Top: Reaching Wealthy Respondents in the SCF
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), August 2009

Ponds and Streams: Wealth and Income in the U.S., 1989 to 2007
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), January 2009

The Bitter End? The Close of the 2007 SCF Field Period
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), October 2008

What's the Difference? Evidence on the Distribution of Wealth, Health, Life Expectancy and Health Insurance Coverage
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), October 2008

Look and Listen, But Don't Stop: Interviewers and Data Quality in the 2007 SCF
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), October 2008

The Role of Over-sampling of the Wealthy in the Survey of Consumer Finances
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF) | Paper (HTML version), July 2007

Measuring the Impact of Data Protection Techniques on Data Utility Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Julia Lane, NORC/University of Chicago
Paper (PDF) | Paper (HTML version), July 2007

How Do We Know If We Aren't Looking? An Investigation Of Data Quality in the 2004 SCF
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), September 2006

Who's Asking? Interviewers, Their Incentives, and Data Qualtiy in Field Surveys
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), June 2006

Currents and Undercurrents: Changes in the Distribution of Wealth, 1989-2004
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Paper (PDF), January 2006

Disentangling the Importance of the Precautionary Saving Motive
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board
Annamaria Lusardi, Dartmouth College and NBER, November 2005
Paper (PDF)

Managing Data Quality on the 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances
Leslie A. Athey, NORC
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board, June 2005
Paper (PDF)

Consider the Source: Differences in Estimates of Income and Wealth from Survey and Tax Data
Barry Johnson, Internal Revenue Service
Kevin Moore, Federal Reserve Board, January 2005
Paper (PDF)

The Good Shepherd: Sample Design and Control for Wealth Measurement in the Survey of Consumer Finances
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board, January 2005
Paper (PDF)

Darkness Made Visible: Field Management and Nonresponse in the 2004 SCF
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board, August 2005
Paper (PDF)

Action at a Distance: Interviewer Effort and Nonresponse in the SCF
Arthur B. Kennickell, Federal Reserve Board, August 2004
Paper (PDF)

Reordering the Darkness: Application of Effort and Unit Nonresponse in the Survey of Consumer Finances
Arthur B. Kennickell, August 2003
Paper (PDF)

Disclosure Review and the 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances
Gerhard Fries, August 2003
Paper (PDF)

Making Complex Data Available to Users with Simple Tools: The Case of the Survey of Consumer Finances
Ryan M. Bledsoe, August 2003
Paper (PDF) 

A Rolling Tide: Changes in the Distribution of Wealth in the U.S., 1989-2001
Arthur B. Kennickell, March 2003
Paper (PDF)

Interviewers and Data Quality: Evidence from the 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances
Arthur B. Kennickell, September 2002
Paper (PDF)

Editing the 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances
Ryan M. Bledsoe and Gerhard Fries, September 2002
Paper (PDF)

Demographic Shifts in the Distribution of Wealth, 1992 to 1998: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer of Finances
Arthur B. Kennickell, August 2002
Paper (PDF)

Modeling Wealth with Multiple Observations of Income: Redesign of the Sample for the 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances
Arthur B. Kennickell, October 2001
Paper (PDF)

A Comparison of the Household Sector from the Flow of Funds Accounts and the Survey of Consumer Finances
Rochelle L. Antoniewicz, October 2000
Paper (PDF) | Tables (PDF)

Revisions to the Variance Estimation Procedure for the SCF
Arthur B. Kennickell, October 2000
Paper (PDF)

Disclosure Review and the 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances
Gerhard Fries and Barry Johnson, September 2000
Paper (PDF)

Asymmetric Information, Interviewer Behavior, and Unit Nonresponse
Arthur B. Kennickell, August 2000
Paper (PDF)

An Examination of Changes in the Distribution of Wealth from 1989 to 1998: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances
Arthur B. Kennickell, June 2000
Paper (PDF)

Wealth Measurement in the Survey of Consumer Finances: Methodology and Directions for Future Research
Arthur B. Kennickell, May 2000
Paper (PDF)

What Do the "Late" Cases Tell Us? Evidence from 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances
Arthur B. Kennickell, October 1999 (Revised February 2000)
Paper (PDF)

Measuring Data Quality In the 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances
Arthur B. Kennickell, August 1999 (Revised February 2000)
Paper (PDF) 

Using Income Data to Predict Wealth
Arthur B. Kennickell, January 1999
Paper (PDF)

Workers' Knowledge of their Pension Coverage: A Reevaluation
M. Starr-McCluer and A. Sunden, January 1999
Paper (PDF)

Revisions to the SCF Weighting Methodology: Accounting for Race/Ethnicity and Homeownership 
Arthur B. Kennickell, January 1999
Paper (PDF)

Analysis of Nonresponse Effects in the 1995 Survey of Consumer Finances
Arthur B. Kennickell, October 1998
Paper (PDF)

Multiple Imputation in the Survey of Consumer Finances
A. Kennickell, September 1998
Part I: Paper (PDF) | Part II: Additional Figures (PDF)

Enhancing the SCF with Administrative and Alternative Survey Data
G. Fries, September 1998
Paper (PDF)

Comments on "Recent Trends in the Size Distribution of Household Wealth," by Edward N. Wolff, Journal of Economic Perspectives v.12, no. 3, summer 1998, pp. 131-150
Arthur B. Kennickell, Summer 1998
Paper (PDF)

List Sample Design for 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances
A. Kennickell, April 1998
Paper (PDF)

A Measurement of Household Wealth Using Survey Data: An Overview of the Survey of Consumer Finances
G. Fries, M. Starr-McCluer, and A. Sunden, March 1998
Paper (PDF)

Gender Differences in the Allocation of Assets in Retirement Savings Plans
A. Sunden and B. Surette, January 1998
Paper (PDF) | Paper (Postscript)

Market Definition and the Analysis of Antitrust in Banking
M. Kwast, M. Starr-McCluer, and J. Wolken, Winter 1997
Paper (PDF)

Multiple Imputation and Disclosure Protection: The Case of the 1995 Survey of Consumer Finances
A. Kennickell, November 1997
Paper (PDF)

Pensions, Social Security, and the Distribution of Wealth
A. Kennickell and A. Sunden, Finance and Economics Discussion Series 1997-55, October 1997
Paper (PDF)

Analyzing the Disclosure Review Procedures for the 1995 Survey of Consumer Finances
G. Fries, B. Johnson, and R. L. Woodburn, September 1997
Paper (PDF) | Paper (Postscript) 

Who Uses Electronic Banking? Results from the 1995 Survey of Consumer Finances
A. Kennickell and M. Kwast, July 1997
Paper (PDF)

Consistent Weight Design for the 1989, 1992, and 1995 SCFs, and the Distribution of Wealth
A. Kenickell and R. L. Woodburn, July 1997
Paper (PDF) and Appendix (4.7 MB PDF)
Paper (Postscript) and Appendix (13.3 MB Postscript)

Weighting Design for the 1983-89 Panel Survey of Consumer Finances
A. Kennickell and R. L. Woodburn, June 1997
Documentation (ASCII)

Household Saving and Portfolio Change: Evidence from the 1983-89 SCF Panel
A. Kennickell and M. Starr-McCluer, April 1997
Paper (PDF) | Paper (Postscript)

Using Range Techniques with CAPI in the 1995 Survey of Consumer Finances
A. Kennickell, January 1997
Paper (PDF)

Weighting Design for the 1992 Survey of Consumer Finances
A. Kennickell, D. McManus, and R. L. Woodburn, December 1996
Paper (PDF) | Paper (2.6 MB Postscript)

Disclosure Review and its Implications for the 1992 Survey of Consumer Finances
G. Fries, R. L. Woodburn, and B. Johnson, August 1996
Paper (PDF) | Paper (Postscript)

Retrospective Reporting of Household Wealth: Evidence from the 1983-89 Survey of Consumer Finances
A. Kennickell and M. Starr-McCluer, June 1996
Paper (PDF) | Paper (4.2 MB Postscript)

Saving and Financial Planning: Some Findings from a Focus Group
A. Kennickell, M. Starr-McCluer, and A. Sunden, Finance and Economics Discussion Series 1996-01, January 1996
Paper (PDF) | Paper (Postscript) 

Saving and Permanent Income: Evidence from the 1992 SCF
A. Kennickell, November 1995
Paper (PDF)

Toward the Development of an Optimal Stratification Paradigm for the Survey of Consumer Finances
M. Frankel and A. Kennickell, October 1995
Paper (PDF) | Paper (Postscript)

Using Graphical Analyses to Improve all Aspects of the Survey of Consumer Finances
G. Fries and R. L. Woodburn, August 1995
Paper (PDF)

Multiple Imputation of the 1983 and 1989 Waves of the SCF
A. Kennickell and D. McManus, October 1994
Paper (PDF) | Paper (Postscript)

The Challenges of Preparing Sensitive Data for Public Release
G. Fries and R. L. Woodburn, August 1994
Paper (PDF)

Sampling for Household Financial Characteristics Using Frame Information on Past Income
A. Kennickell and D. McManus, August 1993
Paper (PDF) | Paper (2.3 MB Postscript)

Estimation of Household Net Worth Using Model-Based and Design-Based Weights: Evidence from the 1989 Survey of Consumer Finances
A. Kennickell and R. L. Woodburn, April 1992
Paper (PDF)

Imputation of the 1989 Survey of Consumer Finances: Stochastic Relaxation and Multiple Imputation
A. Kennickell, October 1991
Paper (PDF) | Paper (Postscript)

Measuring Wealth with Survey Data: An Evaluation of the 1983 Survey of Consumer Finances
R. Avery, G. Elliehausen, and A. Kennickell, December 1986
Paper (PDF) | Paper (Postscript)

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Last Update: February 23, 2021