Aggregate wealth in Canada

This paper describes a comprehensive measure of aggregate private-sector wealth in Canada that includes both human and non-human wealth. Wealth and its components are measured at a quarterly frequency from 1963 to 1994. Human wealth is computed as the expected present value of aggregate labour income net of government expenditures using a finite-state Markov approximation to an estimated bivariate VAR for the real interest rate and net income growth. Non-human wealth is constructed by consolidating the assets and liabilities of the various sectors of the economy. To the extent possible, assets and liabilities are measured at market value.