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Working Paper
Earnings Shocks and Stabilization During COVID-19
This paper documents the magnitude and distribution of U.S. earnings changes during the COVID-19 pandemic and how fiscal relief offset lost earnings. We build panels from administrative tax data to measure annual earnings changes. The frequency of earnings declines during the pandemic were similar to the Great Recession, but the distribution was very different. In 2020, workers starting in the bottom half of the distribution were more likely to experience large annual earnings declines and a similar share of male and female workers had large earnings declines. While most workers experiencing ...
Working Paper
Has Intergenerational Progress Stalled? Income Growth Over Five Generations of Americans
We find that each of the past four generations of Americans was better off than the previous one, using a post-tax, post-transfer income measure constructed annually from 1963-2022 based on the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement. At age 36–40, Millennials had a real median household income that was 18 percent higher than that of the previous generation at the same age. This rate of intergenerational progress was slower than that experienced by the Silent Generation (34 percent) and Baby Boomers (27 percent), but similar to that experienced by Generation X (16 ...
Working Paper
Household Incomes in Tax Data : Using Addresses to Move from Tax Unit to Household Income Distributions
Tax return data are increasingly the standard for tracking income statistics in the United States. However, these data have traditionally been limited by their inability to capture non-filers and to identify members of separate tax units living in the same household. We overcome these obstacles and create household records directly in the tax data using mailing address information included on tax forms. We then present the first set of tax-based household income and inequality measures for the entire income distribution. When comparing household income inequality results in the tax data to ...
Report
Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2016
In order to monitor the economic status of American consumers, the Federal Reserve Board conducted the fourth annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking in October 2016. This survey provides insights into the well-being of U.S. households and consumers, and provides important information about how individuals and their families are faring in the economy. Topics examined in the survey include individuals’ overall financial well-being, employment experiences, income and savings behaviors, economic preparedness, access to banking and credit, housing and living arrangement ...
Discussion Paper
Does it Matter who your Parents are? Findings on Economic Mobility from the Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking
Coming out of the Great Recession, there are renewed concerns about the level of economic opportunity throughout the income distribution and the extent to which economic advancement is a realistic goal for all American families.
Report
Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2014
As the economy of the United States continues to rebound from the Great Recession, the well-being of households and consumers provides important information about the scope and pace of the economic recovery. In order to monitor the financial and economic status of American consumers, the Federal Reserve Board began conducting the Survey of Household Economics and Decision making in 2013 and conducted the survey for a second time in October 2014. The findings from the October 2014 survey are covered in this report. Topics examined in the survey include the financial health of individuals on a ...
Report
Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2015
In order to monitor the financial and economic status of American consumers, the Federal Reserve Board conducted the third annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking in October and November 2015. This survey provides insights into the well-being of households and consumers, and provides important information about how individuals and their families are faring in the economy. Topics examined in the survey include the overall well-being of individual consumers, income and savings behaviors, economic preparedness, access to banking and credit, housing decisions, car purchases and ...
Working Paper
Evaluating the Success of President Johnson's War on Poverty: Revisiting the Historical Record Using a Full-Income Poverty Measure
We evaluate progress in President's Johnson's War on Poverty. We do so relative to the scientifically arbitrary but policy relevant 20 percent baseline poverty rate he established for 1963. No existing poverty measure fully captures poverty reductions based on the standard that President Johnson set. To fill this gap, we develop a Full-income Poverty Measure with thresholds set to match the 1963 Official Poverty Rate. We include cash income, taxes, and major in-kind transfers and update poverty thresholds for inflation annually. While the Official Poverty Rate fell from 19.5 percent in 1963 ...