Personal Wealth from a Global Perspective

There is great media fascination in the activities and lifestyles of the super-rich. But personal wealth is also important for those of more modest means as a store of potential consumption, as a cushion against emergencies, and as collateral for business and investment loans. This book is the first global study of household assets and debts. It documents not only the level, distribution, and trend of wealth holdings in rich nations, but also addresses developing countries like China and India. The situation in Latin America and Africa is given attention along with the experiences of Russia and other transition countries. Components of household wealth like financial assets, land, and property are examined, as well as the gender division. Worldwide, it is estimated that the richest 2% own more than half of total global wealth, and that this elite group resides almost exclusively in North America, Western Europe, and rich Asia-Pacific countries. Contributors to this volume - Janine Aron, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford Juliano Assuncao, Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro Anthony B. Atkinson, University of Oxford Frikkie Booysen, Centre for Health Systems Research and Development, University of the Free State Ronelle Burger, Stellenbosch University James B. Davies, Director of the Economic Policy Research Institute, University of Western Ontario Carmen Diana Deere, Director of the Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida Cheryl R. Doss, Yale University Sergei Guriev, New Economic School, Moscow Patrick Honohan, Trinity College, Dublin Markus Jantti, Abo Akademi University D. Jayaraj, Madras Institute of Development Studies Shi Li, Director of the Center for Income Distribution and Poverty Studies, Beijing Normal University James C. MacGee, University of Western Ontario John Muellbauer, University of Oxford Henry Ohlsson, Uppsala University Sangeeta Pratap, Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York Johan Prinsloo, University of the Free State, South Africa Erwan Quintin, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Andrei Rachinsky, Center for Economic and Financial Research, New Economic School, Moscow Christian Rogg, UK Department for International Development (DFID) Jesper Roine, SITE, Stockholm School of Economics Susanna Sandstrom, UNU-WIDER Anthony Shorrocks, Director, UNU-WIDER Eva Sierminska, CEPS/INSTEAD Seymour Spilerman, Center for the Study of Wealth and Inequality, Columbia University S. Subramanian, Madras Institute of Development Studies Florencia Torche, New York University and Center for the Study of Wealth and Inequality, Columbia University Servaas van der Berg, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa Michael von Maltitz, University of the Free State, South Africa Daniel Waldenstrom, Research Institute of Industrial Economics in Stockholm Edward N. Wolff, New York University and the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College Ruslan Yemtsov, World Bank Renwei Zhao, Institute of Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences