Government Saving, Capital Formation and Wealth in the United States, 1947-1985

This paper presents new updated and improved estimates of various components of governments' contribution to national wealth and its growth in the post-war period. The primary conclusions drawn are: (1). The federal government's assets, tangible and financial, are substantial; they grew more rapidly than the national debt in the 1970s. By 1980, federal tangible assets amounted to $1.7 trillion and financial assets $940 billion, compared to liabilities of $1.5 trillion (in 1985 dollars) ; (2). Since 1980, conventional liabilities have grown much faster than assets, causing about a $727 billion decline in federal "net worth"; (3). The state-local government sector contributes importantly to government and national wealth. State-local fixed reproducible capital is twice the federal amount, about $1.9 trillion in 1985. The difference between assets and liabilities is both larger and more stable for state-local governments than for the federal government. The estimated "net worth" of state-local governments is $2.5 trillion in both 1980 and 1985; 4. Total government reproducible capital was about 55% of the corresponding private non-residential capital stock in 1985; 5. Government net i