The Missing Wealth of Nations: Are Europe and the U.S. net Debtors or net Creditors?*

Zucman, Gabriel

doi:10.1093/qje/qjt012

Cited by 392 publications

(299 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…But if it entrusts assets to a Swiss bank, there is no automatic reporting: French authorities have to rely on self-reporting and tax evasion is possible. 4 Using official Swiss statistics and anomalies in the international investment data of countries, Zucman (2013) estimates that around 8 percent of households' global financial wealth is held in tax havens. This figure implies substantial tax revenue losses due to outright fraud.…”

Section: A Policies To Prevent Offshore Tax Evasionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The End of Bank Secrecy? An Evaluation of the G20 Tax Haven Crackdown

Johannesen¹,

Zucman²

2014

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy

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Section: A Policies To Prevent Offshore Tax Evasionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The End of Bank Secrecy? An Evaluation of the G20 Tax Haven Crackdown

Johannesen¹,

Zucman²

2014

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy

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217

280

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“…For our purposes, the issue is whether the existence of wealth offshore tends to distort our measure of gross (of tax) returns on wealth. If wealth is held abroad mostly to profit from more rewarding investment opportunities not available at home (as argued by Zucman, 2013), then ours are conservative estimates of the heterogeneity in returns and their correlation with wealth. If we drop people in the top 0.5% or 1% of the wealth distributionwhere all wealth offshore seems to be sitting according to Alstadsaeter et al (2017) -our results are unaffected.…”

Section: Some Conceptual Remarksmentioning

confidence: 93%

Heterogeneity and Persistence in Returns to Wealth

et al. 2017

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. We provide a systematic analysis of the properties of individual returns to wealth using twelve years of population data from Norway's administrative tax records. We document a number of novel results. First, during our sample period individuals earn markedly different average returns on their financial assets (a standard deviation of 14%) and on their net worth (a standard deviation of 8%). Second, heterogeneity in returns does not arise merely from differences in the allocation of wealth between safe and risky assets: returns are heterogeneous even within asset classes. Third, returns are positively correlated with wealth: moving from the 10th to the 90th percentile of the financial wealth distribution increases the return by 3 percentage points -and by 17 percentage points when the same exercise is performed for the return to net worth. Fourth, wealth returns exhibit substantial persistence over time. We argue that while this persistence partly reflects stable differences in risk exposure and assets scale, it also reflects persistent heterogeneity in sophistication and financial information, as well as entrepreneurial talent. Finally, wealth returns are (mildly) correlated across generations. We discuss the implications of these findings for several strands of the wealth inequality debate. Terms of use: Documents inJEL-Codes: D310, D910, E210, E240, G110.

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“…The International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2013a) argues that more progressive taxation on higher income groups is needed to mitigate widening income gaps, but in the era of globalization, the imposition of higher tax rates on wealth and capital can provoke tax evasion and avoidance. Zucman (2013) showed that almost 8% of the global financial wealth of households was in the custody of tax haven countries. The OECD (2012a) reported that the size of the tax revenue to GDP ratio does not always result in the same redistributive impact.…”

Section: Redistributive and Progressive Effects Of Income Taxesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fiscal Policy and Inclusive Growth in Advanced Countries: Their Experience and Implications for Asia

2014

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Advanced economies have a significantly longer history of using fiscal policy to tackle inequality and promote inclusive growth than those in developing Asia. Therefore, as developing Asia explores the more active use of fiscal policy for inclusive purposes, it can learn from the experiences of advanced countries. Those experiences clearly suggest that fiscal policy can have a significant effect on inequality which provides some cause for optimism about its equity-promoting potential. Nevertheless, that optimism should be tempered by the different circumstances of advanced versus developing economies along with the need for developing Asia to maintain fiscal sustainability and economic growth. Required Publisher's StatementThis article was first published by the Asian Development Bank (www.adb.org). The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent.ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use.By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term "country" in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Notes:In this publication, "$" refers to US dollars.The ADB Economics Working Paper Series is a forum for stimulating discussion and eliciting feedback on ongoing and recently completed research and policy studies undertaken by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) staff, consultants, or resource persons. The series deals with key economic and development problems, particularly those facing the Asia and Pacific region; as well as conceptual, analytical, or methodological issues relating to project/program economic analysis, and statistical data and measurement. The series aims to enhance the knowledge on Asia's development and policy challenges; strengthen analytical rigor and quality of ADB's country partnership strategies, and its subregional and country operations; and improve the quality and availability of statistical data and development indicators for monitoring development effectiveness.

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The Missing Wealth of Nations: Are Europe and the U.S. net Debtors or net Creditors?*

Cited by 392 publications

References 40 publications

The End of Bank Secrecy? An Evaluation of the G20 Tax Haven Crackdown

The End of Bank Secrecy? An Evaluation of the G20 Tax Haven Crackdown

Heterogeneity and Persistence in Returns to Wealth

Fiscal Policy and Inclusive Growth in Advanced Countries: Their Experience and Implications for Asia

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