The Evolution of Gender Wealth Inequality in the United States in a Changing Institutional Context

Abstract

This article analyzes the patterns of household-level gender wealth inequality in light of financial sector transformation in the US since the 1980s. Securitization, the subprime lending expansion, and wider liberalization measures influenced wealth disparities by determining access to different types of wealth, asset values, and relative indebtedness. The evolution of the gender wealth gap in the context of these institutional changes is not yet clearly established in the literature. Using the US Survey of Consumer Finances between 1989 and 2019, the study examines changes in wealth inequality between unpartnered male-headed and female-headed households and its determinants. It finds substantial heterogeneity of the gender wealth gap, and within-group inequality for female-headed households, across different categories of marital status, family structure, race/ethnicity, and percentile of wealth distribution. Homeownership is estimated to have an equalizing impact, while differences in employment income, age, self-employment, and ownership of high-yielding assets are associated with increasing wealth disparities. HIGHLIGHTS The study examines the unconditional and conditional wealth gaps across unpartnered households. Gender wealth inequality increased in the subprime era and after the Great Recession. The highest inequality is observed across marital status, family structure, and race. The highest inequality is found among the least wealthy households. Wealth inequality can be lowered by reducing disparities in income and asset ownership.