Auswirkungen von Erbschaften und Schenkungen auf die Vermögensbildung privater Personen und Haushalte / The Importance of Intergenerational Transfers for Private Wealth Accumulation: Eine empirische Analyse auf der Basis des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels / An Empirical Analysis of German Survey Data

We analyse the saving behaviour of German individuals and households between the ages of 30 and 50 with respect to inheritances and transfers inter vivos, based on recent data from the German Socio-economic Panel. In cross-section regression analysis current wealth holdings are explained by past life-cycle income and transfers received. The approach accounts for the problem of possible time lags in the adaptation of consumption to unexpected intergenerational transfers. Differences in the propensities to save with respect to highly liquid and less liquid wealth categories are taken into consideration as well.The results indicate a high propensity to save intergenerational transfers. The saving ratio does not decline substantially for transfers received 5 or even 10 years ago. Therefore delays in the reaction of private consumption to transfers obviously do not play a major role. Surprisingly the propensity to save intergenerational transfers is higher for households with lower initial wealth, proxied by their past life-cycle income. Our conclusion is that intergenerational transfers are likely to play a very important role in future private wealth accumulation because – in the long term strongly growing – intergenerational transfers tend to be saved to a high extent. Differences in saving propensities tend to equalise the distribution of wealth across households.