INHERITED WEALTH OVER THE PATH OF DEVELOPMENT: SWEDEN, 1810-2016

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ohlsson, Henry; Roine, Jesper; Waldenstrom, Daniel
• 署名单位: Sveriges Riksbank; Uppsala University; Stockholm School of Economics; Paris School of Economics; Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1542-4766
• DOI: 10.1093/jeea/jvz038
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 1123-1157
• 关键词: intergenerational transfers; income ratios; life-cycle; INEQUALITY; DEMOCRACY

摘要

We estimate the importance of inherited wealth in Sweden over the past 200 years. Inheritance is measured both as the annual inheritance flow divided by national income and as the share of inherited wealth in all private wealth. In the 19th century, Sweden differs from France and the United Kingdom in having much lower inheritance-income flows, but at the same time exhibiting equally large shares of inherited wealth in total wealth. This pattern is in line with Sweden at the time being a poor country with low domestic capital accumulation, but at the same time exhibiting high economic growth rates. In the 20th century the importance of inheritance in relation to national income fell, but since the 1990s it has increased rapidly, today reaching almost the same levels as a century ago. The share of inherited wealth in total wealth has also fallen over time, but remains relatively low due to a rapid accumulation of new wealth. We study potential determinants and explanations, pointing especially to Swedish welfare-state institutions, and in particular to the development of an extensive public occupational pension system contributing to keeping private inheritance low.