Editing Wealth (section)

==Economic analysis==
{{Redirect|Savings|the concept of non-expenditure of income per unit of time|Saving|savings as a business objective|Procurement#Performance}}

In [[economics]], wealth (in a commonly applied [[accounting]] sense, sometimes '''savings''') is the [[net worth]] of a person, household, or [[national saving|nation]] – that is, the value of all [[asset]]s owned net of all [[Liability (accounting)|liabilities]] owed at a point in time. For national wealth as measured in the [[national accounts]], the net liabilities are those owed to the rest of the world.<ref>• [[Paul A. Samuelson]] and [[William Nordhaus|William D. Nordhaus]], 2004, 18th ed. ''[[Economics (textbook)|Economics]]'', "Glossary of Terms."<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; • Nancy D. Ruggles, 1987. "social accounting" ''[[The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics]]'', v. 4, pp.&nbsp;377–382, [380].</ref> The term may also be used more broadly as referring to the productive capacity of a society or as a contrast to [[poverty]].<ref>• [[Adam Smith]], 1776. ''[[The Wealth of Nations]]''.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[David S. Landes]], 1998. ''[[The Wealth and Poverty of Nations]]''. [http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj18n2/cj18n2-9.pdf Review.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011215810/http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj18n2/cj18n2-9.pdf |date=October 11, 2012 }}<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Partha Dasgupta]], 1993. ''An Inquiry into Well-Being and Destitution''. [http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780198288350 Description] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929120800/http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780198288350 |date=September 29, 2007 }} and [http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199406163302421 review.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215175140/https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199406163302421 |date=December 15, 2018 }}</ref> Analytical emphasis may be on its determinants or [[Distribution of wealth|distribution]].<ref>• [[John Bates Clark]], 1902. ''The Distribution of Wealth'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=ihivl3D7TOcC&dq=Clark++Distribution+&pg=RA1-PR13 Analytical Table of Contents.]<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; • E.N. Wolff, 2002. "Wealth Distribution" ''[[International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences]]'', pp. 16394–16401. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090324090839/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B7MRM-4MT09VJ-3SK&_rdoc=11&_hierId=151000138&_refWorkId=21&_explode=151000131,151000138&_fmt=high&_orig=na&_docanchor=&_idxType=SC&view=c&_ct=12&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=9ba159b05baa21f44e844a5aba77e6f1 Abstract.]<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; • Robert L. Heilbroner, 1987. [<nowiki/>[[The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics|2008]]]). ''[[The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics]]'', v. 4, pp. 880–883. Brief preview [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/search_results?q=wealth+%22New+palgrave%22+heilbroner+%22Wealth+is+a+fundamental+concept%22&edition=current&button_search=GO link] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601152245/http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/search_results?q=wealth+%22New+palgrave%22+heilbroner+%22Wealth+is+a+fundamental+concept%22&edition=current&button_search=GO |date=June 1, 2012 }}.</ref>

Economic terminology distinguishes between wealth and income.  Wealth or savings is a ''[[Stock and flow|stock]]'' variable – that is, it is measurable ''at a date'' in time, for example the value of an orchard on December 31 minus debt owed on the orchard. For a given amount of wealth, say at the beginning of the year, [[Income#Economic definitions|income]] from that wealth, as measurable ''over'' say a year is a ''[[Stock and flow|flow]]'' variable. What marks the income as a flow is its measurement per unit of time, such as the value of apples yielded from the orchard per year.

In [[macroeconomic]] theory the '[[wealth effect]]' may refer to the increase in aggregate consumption from an increase in [[national wealth]]. One feature of its effect on economic behavior is the [[wealth elasticity of demand]], which is the percentage change in the amount of [[consumption (economics)|consumption]] goods demanded for each one-percent change in wealth.

There are several historical developmental economics points of view on the basis of wealth, such as from ''[[Principles of Political Economy]]'' by [[John Stuart Mill]], ''[[The Wealth of Nations]]'' by [[Adam Smith]], [[Das Kapital|''Capital'']] by [[Karl Marx]], etc.<ref>
[[Charles A. Tuttle|Charles Tuttle]], The Wealth Concept. A Study in Economic Theory, Source: The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , Apr., 1891, Vol. 1 (Apr., 1891), pp. 615–634, Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. in association with the American Academy of
Political and Social Science, {{JSTOR|1008953}}</ref> Over the history, some of the key underlying factors in wealth creation and the measurement of the wealth include the scalable innovation and application of human knowledge in the form of institutional structure and political/ideological "superstructure", the scarce resources (both natural and man-made), and the saving of monetary assets.

Wealth may be measured in [[Real versus nominal value (economics)|nominal or real values]] – that is, in money value as of a given date or adjusted to net out price changes. The assets include those that are tangible ([[land (economics)|land]] and [[Capital (economics)|capital]]) and ''financial'' (money, bonds, etc.). Measurable wealth typically excludes intangible or nonmarketable assets such as [[human capital]] and [[social capital]]. In economics, 'wealth' corresponds to the accounting term '[[net worth]]', but is measured differently. Accounting measures net worth in terms of the historical cost of assets while economics measures wealth in terms of current values. But analysis may adapt typical accounting conventions for economic purposes in social accounting (such as in [[national accounts]]). An example of the latter is [[generational accounting]] of [[social security]] systems to include the [[present value]] projected future outlays considered to be liabilities.<ref>• Jagadeesh Gokhale, 2008. "Generational accounting." ''[[The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics]]'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_G000203&q=generational%20accounting&topicid=&result_number=1 Abstract] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002085641/http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_G000203&q=generational%20accounting&topicid=&result_number=1 |date=October 2, 2011 }} and  [https://web.archive.org/web/20070613041057/http://www.cato.org/pubs/articles/gokhale-generational_accounting.pdf uncorrected proof.]<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; • Laurence J. Kotlikoff, 1992, ''Generational Accounting''. [[Free Press (publisher)|Free Press]].</ref> Macroeconomic questions include whether the issuance of government bonds affects [[investment (macroeconomics)|investment]] and [[National Income and Product Accounts#Accounting for national product: the right side of the report|consumption]] through the [[wealth effect]].<ref>[[Robert J. Barro]], 1974. "Are Government Bonds Net Wealth?", ''[[Journal of Political Economy]]'', 8(6), pp. [http://econ161.berkeley.edu/Teaching_Folder/Econ_202b_F2000/papers/Barro,_Bonds_Net_Wealth.pdf#page=2 1095–1111.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606103443/http://econ161.berkeley.edu/Teaching_Folder/Econ_202b_F2000/papers/Barro,_Bonds_Net_Wealth.pdf#page=2 |date=June 6, 2011 }}</ref>

[[Environmental assets]] are not usually counted in measuring wealth, in part due to the difficulty of valuation for a [[Public good (economics)|non-market good]]. Environmental or [[green accounting]] is a method of [[national accounts|social accounting]] for formulating and deriving such measures on the argument that an educated valuation is superior to a value of zero (as the implied valuation of environmental assets).<ref>• Sjak Smulders, 2008. "green national accounting" ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_G000196&edition=current&q=environment&topicid=&result_number=5 Abstract.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511222001/http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_G000196&edition=current&q=environment&topicid=&result_number=5 |date=May 11, 2012 }}<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[United States National Research Council]], 1994. ''Assigning Economic Value to Natural Resources'', [[National Academy Press]]. Chapter-preview [http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4844&page=R1 links.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607035233/http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4844&page=R1 |date=June 7, 2011 }}</ref>