Stock Ownership Patterns, Stock Market Fluctuations, and Consumption

Abstract

The bull market of the last year has raised the total value of corporate stock in the United States by nearly a trillion dollars. While many analysts have tried to explain or interpret the recent movements of the stock market, there has been less attention to the link between rising stock prices and real economic activity. How are the gains from and increase in share prices distributed across households? What fraction of these gains accrues to a small set of wealthy investors? How do rising stock prices affect consumer spending?