A Study on the Joint Distribution of Income and Assets over the Life Cycle and Policy Responses

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the joint distribution of income and assets over the life cycle, including young adulthood, middle age, and older adulthood, and to provide evidence-based practical recommendations for improving income-asset-based welfare systems. The study's results confirm the existence of a lifetime trajectory in which income is used to form and utilize assets while maintaining daily life through expenditure. The gap in economic capability, which includes income and assets, is influenced by class and intragenerational disparities. However, there is still room for improvement in aligning it with existing asset formation and utilization policies. The effectiveness of the income-asset-based welfare system should be improved by taking into account the multidimensionality of assets, and we suggested policy approaches to achieve this.