Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP13864
Authors: Alina Bartscher; Moritz Kuhn; Moritz Schularick
Abstract: Using new long-run micro data, this paper studies wealth and income trends of college and non-college households in the United States since 1956. We document the emergence of a substantial college wealth premium since the 1980s, which is considerably larger than the college income premium. Over the past four decades, the wealth of American households with a college-educated head has tripled. By contrast, the wealth of non-college households has barely grown in real terms over the same period. Part of the rising wealth gap can be traced back to systematic portfolio differences between college and non-college households that give rise to different exposures to asset price changes. Non-college households have a lower exposure to the equity market and have profited much less from the recent surge in the stock market. We also discuss the importance of financial literacy and business ownership for the increase in wealth inequality between college and non-college households.
Keywords: wealth inequality; education; college wealth premium
JEL Codes: I24; E21; D31
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| wealth accumulation (E21) | college education (I23) |
| business ownership (L26) | wealth accumulation (E21) |
| college education (I23) | wealth accumulation (E21) |
| college education (I23) | asset composition (stocks and mutual funds) (G11) |
| asset composition (stocks and mutual funds) (G11) | capital gains during stock market booms (G10) |
| college education (I23) | business ownership (L26) |