*New* Russell Sage Foundation: Request for Articles: Wealth and Family Economics: How Much Wealth Is Needed to Achieve Social and Economic Benchmarks? (10/08/26)
Posted: 2026-09-02 11:00:46 ()
RSF: Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Call for Papers
ISSUE ON “Wealth and Family Economics: How Much Wealth Is Needed to Achieve Social and Economic Benchmarks? Insights from New Measures and Concepts”
Editors:
Marybeth J. Mattingly*
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Jeffrey P. Thompson*
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
*The views represented here are the authors’ own and do not necessarily represent the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Federal Reserve System, or its Board of Governors
While income is a primary focus of family economics research, wealth is a critical component of well-being. On the one hand, wealth can provide an important buffer when expenses exceed income, aiding in the avoidance of negative socioeconomic outcomes. These can include everything from unexpected medical expenses to a needed car repair to prices for necessary expenses climbing faster than income. On the other hand, wealth can be used to invest in the future and maintain or advance socioeconomic status through purchasing a home, attaining higher education, starting a small business, saving for retirement, or creating a nest egg for ensuing generations. These two primary functions demonstrate the essential role wealth plays in key outcomes and the importance of incorporating wealth into our understanding of family well-being.
For this call, we focus primarily on the amounts of wealth needed to achieve different levels of economic and social well-being or reach different steps on the socio-economic ladder. These levels range from modest buffer funds that afford some stability to the additional resources needed to start investing to the assets corresponding to a “solid middle-class” lifestyle to the riches associated with having achieved high socioeconomic status. Put another way, we are focused on the wealth necessary for stability, security, mobility, and prosperity.
We also focus on which outcomes matter most for the well-being of individuals and families and for the broader communities in which they reside, and how much wealth is necessary to achieve various socioeconomic benchmarks, like stability, security, mobility, and prosperity, associated with these outcomes. While we can compute various metrics (for example, the median down payment required to buy a home in a specific place), we lack robust conceptualization of how much wealth is needed across a range of conditions and circumstances. For example, in the presence of a social safety net that includes Medicare, Social Security, SNAP, and housing assistance and serves populations with a range of family types and sizes, health statuses and anticipated lifespans, how much wealth is necessary to support an adequate standard of living in retirement? Such measures could help scholars achieve a better understanding of wealth, and they could assist policymakers and practitioners in developing strategies that would enable the realization of various outcomes.
Please click here for a full description of topics to be covered in this issue.
Anticipated Timeline
Prospective contributors should submit a CV and an abstract (up to two pages in length, single or double spaced) of their study along with up to three pages of supporting material (e.g., tables, figures, pictures, etc.) no later than 5 PM ET on October 8, 2026, to:
In other words, your submission may be up to five pages in length. This includes everything, abstract, references, etc. Note that if you wish to submit an abstract and do not yet have an account with us, it can take up to 48 hours to get credentials, so please start your application at least two days before the deadline. All submissions must be original work that has not been previously published in part or in full. Only abstracts submitted to https://rsf.fluxx.io will be considered. Each paper will receive a $1,000 honorarium when the issue is published. All questions regarding this issue should be directed to Suzanne Nichols, Director of Publications, at journal@rsage.org. Do not email the editors of the issue.
A conference will take place at the Russell Sage Foundation in New York City on March 19, 2027, with a group dinner the night of the 18th. The selected contributors will gather for a two-day workshop to present draft papers (due a month prior to the conference on 2/18/27 and receive feedback from the other contributors and editors. Note that submission of the draft prior to the conference is mandatory for participation. Travel costs, food, and lodging for one author per paper will be covered by the foundation. Papers will be circulated before the conference. After the conference, the authors will submit their revised drafts by 6/14/27. The papers will then be sent out to three additional scholars for formal peer review. Having received feedback from reviewers and the RSF board, authors will revise their papers by 1/10/28. The full and final issue will be published open access on the RSF journal website in fall 2028, as well as in several digital repositories, including JSTOR and UPCC/Muse.
Please click here for a full description of topics to be covered in this issue.