TY - CHAP
T1 - The World Distribution of Household Wealth
AU - Davies, James B.
AU - Sandström, Susanna
AU - Shorrocks, Anthony
AU - Wolff, Edward N.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© United Nations University-World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), 2008. All rights reserved.
PY - 2009/1/1
Y1 - 2009/1/1
N2 - There has been much recent research on the world distribution of income, but also growing recognition of the importance of other contributions to wellbeing, including those of household wealth. Wealth is important in providing security and opportunity, particularly in poorer countries that lack full social safety nets and adequate facilities for borrowing and lending. This chapter finds, however, that it is precisely in the latter countries that household wealth is the lowest, both in absolute and relative terms. Globally, wealth is more concentrated than income, on both an individual and a national basis. Roughly 30 per cent of world wealth is found in each of North America, Europe, and the rich Asian_Pacific countries. These areas account for virtually all world's top 1% of wealth holders. On an official exchange_rate basis, India accounts for about a quarter of the adults in the bottom three global wealth deciles, while China provides about a third of those in the fourth to eighth deciles. If current growth trends continue, India, China, and the transition countries will move up in the global distribution, and the lower deciles will be increasingly dominated by countries in Africa, Latin American, and poor parts of the Asian_Pacific region. Thus wealth may continue to be lowest in areas where it is needed the most.
AB - There has been much recent research on the world distribution of income, but also growing recognition of the importance of other contributions to wellbeing, including those of household wealth. Wealth is important in providing security and opportunity, particularly in poorer countries that lack full social safety nets and adequate facilities for borrowing and lending. This chapter finds, however, that it is precisely in the latter countries that household wealth is the lowest, both in absolute and relative terms. Globally, wealth is more concentrated than income, on both an individual and a national basis. Roughly 30 per cent of world wealth is found in each of North America, Europe, and the rich Asian_Pacific countries. These areas account for virtually all world's top 1% of wealth holders. On an official exchange_rate basis, India accounts for about a quarter of the adults in the bottom three global wealth deciles, while China provides about a third of those in the fourth to eighth deciles. If current growth trends continue, India, China, and the transition countries will move up in the global distribution, and the lower deciles will be increasingly dominated by countries in Africa, Latin American, and poor parts of the Asian_Pacific region. Thus wealth may continue to be lowest in areas where it is needed the most.
KW - Balance sheets
KW - Households
KW - Net worth
KW - Personal assets
KW - Portfolios
KW - Wealth
KW - Wealth inequality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84919740437&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199548880.003.0019
DO - 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199548880.003.0019
M3 - Chapter
AN - SCOPUS:84919740437
SN - 9780199548880
BT - Personal Wealth from a Global Perspective
PB - Oxford University Press
ER -