James N. Morgan

Prepared under the auspices of the Survey Research Center.

The purpose of this study was to investigate high-income individuals in their roles as investors and workers. The interviews included questions on saving objectives and investment policies, trust fund ownership, delegation of investment management, people's sources of information about investing, kind of assets held and reasons for choice of particular assets, gifts and inheritances received, philanthropic giving and gifts to relatives, capital gains and losses, occupation and work experience of both head and wife, family income and income patterns, information about taxes and tax considerations, and the structure and social characteristics of the family. The main questions deal with the acquisition, handling, and expected disposition of assets, and the factors which affect portfolio decisions. A secondary objective was factors affecting work effort of the head of the household and the head's spouse. No individual incomes were revealed, and interview reports had to be used to infer the sampling rate for each individual. Weights were used to make the sample represent dollars of adjusted gross income instead of families.

The study focused on the total economic effort of families, the outside constraints and inner desires that affected that effort, and the attitudes and views of people that might affect the quantity and the efficiency of their work effort. Information was obtained to help explain the extent to which families work, plan ahead, accept change, avoid risk, and keep a realizable set of goals. Data were collected on the kinds of work people did and their level of job satisfaction, their desire and opportunity to work more hours, job history and any plans for changing to another type of job, and their plans for future retirement or present experience if already retired. Also included was information about aspirations for education of children, arrangements for child care and household help, frequency of meals taken in restaurants, and type of residence presently occupied and plans to move, if any. There are data on family history, including information about college attended by both head and wife, places family has lived, and feelings about personal efficacy. Income questions included amount of money earned, amount received from investments and from transfer income. In addition to such information as age, sex, and family composition, there were questions about religious affiliation and political party membership. The data were obtained by personal interviews with families. Eligible respondents were a cross-section probability sample of family heads. The unit of analysis for the file is the family.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of tax and foundation laws on charitable giving and to gain a better understanding of giving in general. Two national sample surveys are included in this study. Both samples oversampled higher income people because giving to others, particularly gifts of money, tends to be concentrated among those with higher incomes. In addition, the Survey Research Center sample oversampled higher income areas and further eliminated a fraction of those under age 25 or with less than a college education. The second sample was drawn with the cooperation of the Internal Revenue Service and the interviewing was conducted by the staff of the United States Census Bureau. This survey used a questionnaire almost identical to the first. Questions were asked about contributions of time and money to religious and charitable organizations. Details about the recipients and the amounts given were obtained for larger gifts. In addition to income, assets, demographic and background information, respondents were asked various questions about their knowledge of and attitudes toward the tax laws concerning contributions.