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Intergenerational transfers and wealth in the Euro-area: The relevance of inheritances and gifts in absolute and relative terms

Author

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  • Tiefensee, Anita
  • Westermeier, Christian
Abstract
Private wealth is a crucial factor for the economic well-being of households. Key determinants of private wealth include intergenerational wealth transfers (gifts and inheritances), which are gaining importance since 1990, as research suggests. We conduct a detailed investigation of the distribution of wealth transfers in eight Euro-area countries. First, we investigate the patterns of prevalence and level of past wealth transfers in the individual countries: Who received transfers, and what is their present value in absolute terms? We find that in most countries the percentages of households with a transfer as well as the mean present value of those transfers is increasing along the distribution of net wealth. Using a series of country-specific multivariate regressions, we find that households with higher income and education levels have both a higher probability of receiving transfers and higher absolute transfer value. We then analyze the present value of transfers as a percent of current net worth. Here, in relative terms, some of the results are reversed, as the relative importance of intergenerational transfers does not increase with the level of wealth or income. Using a fractional logit regression we conclude that for higher income quintiles the share of current net worth due to past intergenerational transfers tends to be decreasing.

Suggested Citation

  • Tiefensee, Anita & Westermeier, Christian, 2016. "Intergenerational transfers and wealth in the Euro-area: The relevance of inheritances and gifts in absolute and relative terms," Discussion Papers 2016/4, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:fubsbe:20164
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Korom, Philipp, 2016. "Inherited advantage: The importance of inheritance for private wealth accumulation in Europe," MPIfG Discussion Paper 16/11, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    2. Bönke, Timm & Werder, Marten v. & Westermeier, Christian, 2017. "How inheritances shape wealth distributions: An international comparison," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 217-220.
    3. Pasteau, Etienne & Zhu, Junyi, 2018. "Love and money with inheritance: Marital sorting by labor income and inherited wealth in the modern partnership," Discussion Papers 23/2018, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    4. Vivien Burrows & Chris Lennartz, 2021. "The timing of intergenerational transfers and household wealth: too little, too late?," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2021-11, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    5. Baldermann, Claudia & Salvati, Nicola & Schmid, Timo, 2016. "Robust small area estimation under spatial non-stationarity," Discussion Papers 2016/5, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    intergenerational transfers; inheritances and gifts; wealth distribution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance

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