Rehm, Miriam, Schnetzer, Matthias. 2015. Property and Power: Lessons from Piketty and new insights from the HFCS. European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies 12 (2): S. 204-219.
BibTeX
Abstract
This paper argues that the cumulative causation processes between wealth and power risk leading to an escalation of wealth inequality. Piketty's historical description of this development from administrative data for individual countries is corroborated with new survey data for the eurozone, the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS). Wealth is extremely unequally distributed in the eurozone – much more so than income. Furthermore, we provide a multi-faceted picture of wealth distribution in Europe using the socio-economic characteristics available in the HFCS, and we show that inheritances are the single most important factor for wealth inequality. The structural power to shape economic and political institutions is thus ever more concentrated. Finally, we discuss three channels through which the unequal distribution of private assets may affect power relations and economic activity.
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Status of publication | Published |
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Affiliation | WU |
Type of publication | Journal article |
Journal | European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention |
Language | English |
Title | Property and Power: Lessons from Piketty and new insights from the HFCS |
Volume | 12 |
Number | 2 |
Year | 2015 |
Page from | 204 |
Page to | 219 |
Reviewed? | Y |
URL | http://www.elgaronline.com/abstract/journals/ejeep/12-2/ejeep.2015.02.06.xml |
DOI | http://dx.doi.org/10.4337/ejeep.2015.02.06 |
Associations
- People
- Schnetzer, Matthias (Former researcher)
- External
- Rehm, Miriam (AK Wien, Austria)
- Organization
- Department of Economics (Crespo Cuaresma) (Details)
- Research areas (Ă–STAT Classification 'Statistik Austria')
- 5300 Economics (Details)
- 5323 Econometrics (Details)
- 5341 Economic policy (Details)