This article considers trends in wealth at the middle and top of the distribution, with a particular focus on the period around the Great Recession. It illustrates that leverage rates of middle class families relative to high-wealth families were beneficial to relative rates of return of middle class families for most periods since 1983 but was extremely detrimental during the Great Recession. It also considers the savings rates over time among high-wealth and middle class families, showing that dissaving slowed the recovery in wealth—especially among the middle class. Differential leverage was also a key factor explaining wealth inequality trends.

中文翻译：

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中产阶级财富下降，1983-2016

本文考虑了分布中间和顶部的财富趋势，特别关注大衰退前后的时期。它说明，自 1983 年以来的大部分时期，中产阶级家庭相对于高财富家庭的杠杆率对中产阶级家庭的相对回报率有利，但在大衰退期间却极为不利。它还考虑了高财富和中产阶级家庭随时间推移的储蓄率，表明储蓄减慢了财富的恢复——尤其是中产阶级。差异杠杆也是解释财富不平等趋势的关键因素。