Inheriting Wealth in America

Lars Osberg, McCulloch Professor of Economics, Dalhousie University A 'Must Read' for anyone interested in recent trends in wealth ownership and inheritance in the USA. Ed Wolff's comprehensive analysis builds the intellectual case for taxing large wealth transfers as income in the hands of recipients and exempting the small gifts and inheritances, which he shows to be surprisingly important for middle class families.

Edward Wolff received his doctorate from Yale University in 1974. He is currently professor of economics at New York University and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He served as Managing Editor of the Review of Income and Wealth (1987-2004) and was a Senior Scholar at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College (1999-2011), a Visiting Scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation (2003-2004), President of the Eastern Economics Association (2002-2003), a council member of the International Input-Output Association (1995-2003), and a council member of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth (1987-2012).

Chapter 1. Introduction to the Book ; 1.1 Prologue ; 1.2 Overview and plan of the book ; Chapter 2. Background Material ; 2.1 Literature review on inheritances ; 2.2 Household Wealth Trends, 1983 to 2010 ; Chapter 3. Inheritances and the Distribution of Wealth Or Whatever Happened to the Great Inheritance Boom? ; 3.1. Introduction ; 3.2. Data sources and methods ; 3.3 Empirical findings, 1989 - 2007 ; 3.4 Summary and concluding remarks ; Appendix to Chapter 3: Questions on Wealth Transfers and Work History in the Survey of Consumer Finances Questionnaire ; Chapter 4. An Examination of Inheritances Using the Panel Survey of Income ; Dynamics ; 4.1 Introduction ; 4.2 Patterns of inheritances ; 4.3 Do inheritances substitute for other savings? ; 4.4 Concluding remarks ; Chapter 5. Wealth Accumulation by Age Cohort: The Role of Savings, Capital Gains and Intergenerational Transfers ; 5.1 Introduction ; 5.2 The accounting framework ; 5.3 Data sources and descriptive statistics ; 5.4 Simulation model of wealth changes by age group ; 5.5 Simulation results ; 5.6 Concluding remarks ; Appendix to Chapter 5: Sources and Methods Used in the Construction of Savings Rates by Age Group, 1983 to 2007 ; Chapter 6. Conclusions and Policy Recommendations ; 6.1 Summary and concluding remarks ; 6.2 Policy recommendations