On the Share of Inheritance in Aggregate Wealth: Europe and the USA, 1900–2010

Facundo Alvaredo · Bertrand Garbinti · Thomas Piketty

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Income, Poverty, and Inequality Historical Economic and Social Studies Economic Theory and Policy

Abstract

This paper provides historical series on the evolution of the share of inherited wealth in aggregate private wealth in Europe (France, the UK, Germany, Sweden) and the USA over the 1900–2010 period. Until 1910, the inheritance share was very high in Europe (70–80%). It then fell abruptly following the 1914–45 shocks, down to about 30–40% during the 1950–80 period, and is back to 50–60% (and rising) since around 2010. The US pattern also appears to be U‐shaped, albeit less marked, and with significant uncertainty regarding recent trends, due to data limitations. We discuss possible interpretations for these long‐run patterns.

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References

2014Capital in the Twenty-First Century 2014Capital is Back: Wealth-Income Ratios in Rich Countries 1700–2010 *1986Life Cycle, Individual Thrift, and the Wealth of Nations 1981The Role of Intergenerational Transfers in Aggregate Capital Accumulation 1988The Role of Intergenerational Transfers and Life Cycle Saving in the Accumulation of Wealth 1988Intergenerational Transfers and Savings 2011On the Long-Run Evolution of Inheritance: France 1820–2050 *2014Wealth Inequality in the United States since 1913: Evidence from Capitalized Income Tax Data

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