WITHDRAWN - Creating an Integrated System of Data and Statistics on Household Income, Consumption and Wealth

Music City Center 

Increasing income and wealth inequality has characterized the U.S. economy for several decades. While researchers differ on the extent of the increase and its causes, they no longer disagree on the essential phenomenon. Yet the nation's disparate federal statistics make it difficult to accurately measure income and wealth inequality and other aspects of economic well-being for the nation's households and families. The Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a consensus panel report, Creating an Integrated System of Data and Statistics on Household Income, Consumption and Wealth: Time to Build, that discusses the research and policy needs for new statistics on the distribution of income, consumption and wealth. The report provides guidance on the appropriate definitions of household, family, and individual income, consumption, and wealth, variations in definitions that would be useful for particular purposes, and comparability with commonly used international measures. The report highlights the potential for using multiple data sources, including surveys, tax records, state and federal administrative records, and commercial data. Finally, the documents the legal and administrative barriers to creating an integrated data infrastructure.