April, 2005 Abstract. A model with wealth accumulation subject to i.i.d. random shocks is examined. The transfer function shows what kt+1 wealth at t+ 1 would be, given kt, with no shock. It has a positive slope, but indeterminate concavity/convexity. The stationary distribution satis…es a Fredholm integral equation and can be examined by direct analysis of the stochastic process or via the Fre...

This policy brief advances the growing literature on how student loan debt affects individuals’ other economic decisions. Specifically, it examines the impact of student loan liabilities on individuals’ homeownership status and wealth accumulation. The analysis employs a rich set of financial and demographic control variables that are not available in many of the existing studies that use credi...

We use survey data to compare the income and consumption of baby boomers in 1989 with that of their parents' generation in the early 1960s when they were the same ages. Various adjustments allow for changes in household composition and living arrangements. We also assess how wealth accumulation by baby boomers compares to that of their parents' generation. We find that boomers on average have a...

The timing of education across the life cycle is differentially associated with older-age health outcomes and socioeconomic status among military retirees, a subpopulation with common levels of adolescent health but variation in educational timing. A year of education obtained before military service lowers the probability of poor health in retirement by 2.5 percentage points, while a year obta...

We calibrate a sequence of four nested models to study the dynamics of wealth accumulation. Individuals maximize a utility function whose arguments are consumption and investment. They desire to accumulate wealth for its own sake – this is not a life-cycle model. A competitive firm produces a single good from labor and capital; the rate of return to capital and the wage rate are market-clearing...

Racial differences in wealth ownership are among the most extreme and persistent forms of stratification in the United States, but the factors that contribute to this inequality are unclear. One potentially important contributing factor is family background. It is a critical determinant of attainment, and both childhood family resources and family structure vary racially. This article reports t...