TY - JOUR T1 - Recent trends in wealth inequality among older Americans in two surveys JF - Journal of Economics and Social Measurement Y1 - 2020 A1 - Kezdi, Gabor A1 - Margaret Lay A1 - David R Weir KW - Education KW - net wealth KW - race disparity KW - social security wealth KW - Wealth Inequality AB - We document changes in wealth inequality across American households with a member aged 55 or older, comparing data in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) with that in the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) between 1998 and 2016. We examine net wealth including housing, financial and nonfinancial assets and debt, without the cash value of insurances, DB pensions or Social Security wealth. We find very similar distributions of net wealth in the two surveys between the 25th and 90th percentiles, but substantially higher wealth in the SCF at the top of the distribution. Both surveys show an increase in wealth inequality between 1998 and 2016, first mostly due to increased wealth at the top, and, after 2012, due to an increase in the share of households with very little wealth as well. Both surveys agree that wealth inequality by education and race, already substantial in 1998, increased further by 2016. VL - 45 IS - 3-4 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Economic development and gender inequality in cognition: a comparison of China and India, and of SAGE and the HRS sister studies. JF - Journal of Economics of Ageing Y1 - 2014 A1 - David R Weir A1 - Margaret Lay A1 - Kenneth M. Langa KW - CHARLS KW - Economics KW - Gender Differences KW - LASI KW - Older Adults KW - SAGE KW - Sister studies AB -

This paper examines cognition measures by age and gender from two types of studies in China and India. It finds that despite some notable differences in samples and measures, a general strong association of cognition in older ages with education emerges as a potential explanation for gender gaps and cohort differences. Female disadvantage in cognition is greater in India, both before and after controlling for education. The process of rural-urban migration draws more cognitively able women to cities in China but not in India. The advent of modern longitudinal studies of aging in these developing countries holds great promise for future work.

VL - 4 ER -