Financial Wealth: An Estimate of the Buildup and Destruction of Wealth 2002–2012

Abstract

This article is an updated version of the article “Financial Wealth: Sustained but High Gains and a Collapse for the Ages: An Estimate of Cycles of Buildup and Destruction of Wealth 2002–2009” from the January 2010 issue of the Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies (Loser & Arnold 2010). In the previous article, we estimated the swings in financial wealth through 2009, breaking down our estimates by region and asset class. In this updated piece, we extend those estimates through 2011. We also estimate what portion of the recovery in financial wealth beginning in 2009 has been due to a strengthening market, and what portion has been due to government intervention.