Racial and Ethnic Differences in Wealth Holdings and Portfolio Choices: ORES Working Paper Series Number 95

By Sharmila Choudhury

There are large differences in wealth across racial and ethnic groups, much of which remain unexplained even after controlling for income and demographic factors. This paper studies the issue of whether differences in saving behavior and rates of return on assets are a possible source of the differences in wealth. It uses data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine the differences in various components of aggregate wealth (including nonhousing equity, housing equity, financial assets, and risky assets) and to inspect differences in portfolio choices by race and ethnicity.
Descriptive tabulations of components of aggregate wealth and portfolio choices shown here point to differences between white and minority households in their saving behavior and choice of assets. These findings suggest that some of the large differences in wealth across racial and ethnic groups that remain unexplained even after controlling for income and demographic factors, may be attributable to the smaller participation in financial markets by minority households.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1289054258
• ISBN13: 9781289054250
• Release Date: June 2013
• Publisher: Bibliogov
• Length: 38 Pages
• Weight: 0.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 7.4" x 9.7"