Wealth in America
Subtitle: Trends in Wealth Inequality
Edition: 1st Ed edition
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: June 19, 2000
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 320
ISBN-13: 9780521621687
Subjects: Macroeconomics; Social research & statistics; United States; Equality; Contemporary Economic Situations And Conditions; Distribution Of Income; Business & Economics; Sociology; Income distribution; General; Economics - Macroeconomics; Business & Economics / Macroeconomics; Income distribution--United States; Social Science / General; Social Science : General; Wealth; Economic Conditions; Economics - Microeconomics; Income
First sentence: One of the most astute observes of American life, Alexis de Tocqueville noted that wealth accumulation is perhaps the fundamental motivator of American behavior.
Description: "In this book, Lisa A. Keister synthesizes theory and data from various sources to present a detailed picture of household wealth distribution from the early 1960s through the 1990s. The author utilizes existing survey data and a unique simulation model to isolate and examine some of the processes that create this distribution, paying particular attention to the wealth ownership and accumulation of top wealth holders, those who control the bulk of household wealth. She also identifies trends in wealth mobility that are not possible to estimate with traditional research methods.

The results underscore the importance of wealth as an indicator of well-being, identify important causes of wealth inequality, and propose some methods of lessening the recent increase in the concentration of wealth."--Jacket.