Public Wealth in the United States

IMF Working Papers, July 2, 2019

Source details

We analyze the US public sector balance sheet and project it forward under the assumption that current policies remain in place.
The study documents the history of the balance sheet and its components since World War II, with a detailed account of its evolution during and after the global financial crisis.
While, based on assets and liabilities alone, public sector net worth is negative, additional challenges arise from commitments to future spending implied by current legislation and demographic trends.
To quantify the risks to the balance sheet, we apply the macroeconomic scenarios from the Federal Reserve’s bank stress test to the public sector balance sheet.

Public sector net worth is negative when measured on the basis of assets and liabilities alone.
Commitments to future spending implied by current legislation and demographic trends create additional challenges for the balance sheet beyond the asset–liability position.
The evolution of the balance sheet during and after the global financial crisis is documented in detail (historical coverage since World War II).

Historical documentation of the balance sheet and its components since World War II.
Forward projections under the assumption that current policies remain in place.
Application of the macroeconomic scenarios from the Federal Reserve’s bank stress test to assess risks to the public sector balance sheet.

Subjects: Economic sectors, Expenditure, Financial institutions, Financial statements, Global financial crisis of 2008-2009, Pension spending, Public debt, Public financial management (PFM), Public sector, Securities
Keywords: asset, asset revaluation, balance sheet, Federal Reserve assets, Financial statements, Fiscal sustainability, fixed asset, Global, Government finance statistics, liability mismatch, Pension spending, Public sector, revaluation effect, Securities, student loan, WP, yield