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Survey Estimates of Wealth - Mathematica Policy Research

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limited data on the collective remaining individuals in the household. <strong>Research</strong> findings from<br />

the SCF, whether written by SCF staff or other investigators, generally present estimates <strong>of</strong><br />

wealth holdings for primary economic units and do not take account <strong>of</strong> the remaining household<br />

members.<br />

2. SIPP Families<br />

The SIPP collects wealth data from each adult member (15 and older) <strong>of</strong> the sample<br />

household. With these data it is possible to construct alternative units <strong>of</strong> analysis. For example,<br />

wealth can be estimated for the entire household or for individual families or persons within the<br />

household.<br />

Before describing how we constructed family units for the purpose <strong>of</strong> estimating family<br />

wealth from the SIPP, it is helpful to review Census Bureau household and family terminology.<br />

The Census Bureau defines a “family” as two or more persons living together who are related by<br />

blood, marriage, or adoption. For data collection purposes, one person in each family is<br />

designated the family reference person, and relationships are recorded relative to this person. A<br />

“primary family” includes the householder—that is, the person who owns the housing unit or in<br />

whose name the unit is rented. The householder becomes the household reference person as well<br />

as the family reference person for his or her family. 3<br />

A subset <strong>of</strong> the members <strong>of</strong> the primary<br />

family may be identified as a “subfamily,” consisting <strong>of</strong> a married couple (with or without<br />

3 For married couples, in most cases, either partner is eligible to be identified as the householder, and the<br />

designation <strong>of</strong> one partner versus the other as householder holds no economic or demographic significance. Only<br />

one partner is designated as householder, however, so that the relationships <strong>of</strong> all other household members to this<br />

one person can be recorded.<br />

12

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