National patterns of income and wealth inequality

Abstract

The aim of this article is to show that wealth must be treated as a distinct dimension of social stratification alongside income. In a first step, we explain why social stratification researchers have largely overlooked wealth in the past and present a detailed definition of wealth by differentiating it from income. In the empirical part of the article, we analyze the distribution of wealth across 18 countries, and we describe and compare national patterns of wealth inequality to those of income inequality making use of different data sources. Our results show -first -that there is strong variation in the distribution of wealth between these 18 countries, and -second -that levels of wealth inequality significantly differ from levels of income inequality in about half of the countries analyzed. Surprisingly high levels of wealth inequality we find in Sweden and Denmark, two countries widely considered being highly egalitarian societies. Conversely, the Southern European countries -where income inequality is relatively high -exhibit comparatively low levels of wealth inequality.

Wealth inequality in Central and Eastern Europe: Evidence from household survey and rich lists’ data combined*

“…Figure 1 presents estimates of wealth inequality (using the Gini index and top 1% wealth share) from the HFCS for the CEE and non-CEE countries. The numbers confirm the findings of Skopek et al (2014). Indeed, the CEE countries seem to be distributed over the full scale of survey-based wealth inequality measures in Europe-Slovakia is at the bottom of the ranking, Poland and Hungary belong to the middle, while the Baltic countries are placed among the most unequal countries in Europe.…”

“…However, they were unable to quantify the extent of wealth inequality in the post-socialist countries. Skopek, Buchholz, and Blossfeld (2014) used data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to study wealth inequality in Czechia, Estonia, Hungary and Poland (along with many other rich European countries) over 2006-2012. The major limitation of their work is that the SHARE only covers the population aged 50 years and above. They found that CEE countries are distributed over the full range of levels of net wealth inequality.…”

Wealth Inequality and Accumulation

“…Cross-country differences in the distribution of wealth are different from those based on income (Jäntti et al 2008, Skopek et al 2014). While socialist systems limit the accumulation of private wealth and thereby diminish the role of inheritance for asset accumulation (Szydlik 2004), more specific institutional and economic determinants of wealth levels and inequality are yet to be identified (Semyonov & Lewin-Epstein 2013).…”

Intergenerational Inequality? Labour, Capital, and Housing Through the Ages

“…This is one reason why scholars of inequality or “social stratification” have in recent years begun paying more attention to wealth (as well as income) inequality; in the past, such scholars tended to downplay wealth (including housing wealth) because it was concentrated in relatively few hands (see Spilerman :499; see also Skopek et al :464–466).…”

“…Skopek et al (:476–479) provide a very accessible and illuminating summary of the relationship between income inequalities and wealth inequalities in different countries.…”