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Anhaltend hohe Vermögensungleichheit in Deutschland

Author

Listed:
  • Markus M. Grabka
  • Christian Westermeier

Abstract

According to current analyses based on the Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), the total net assets of German households in 2012 amounted to 6.3 trillion euros. Almost 28 percent of the adult population had no or even negative net worth. On average, individual net worth in 2012 totaled more than 83,000 euros; that is slightly more than ten years previously. The degree of wealth inequality remained virtually unchanged. With a Gini coefficient of 0.78, Germany has a high degree of wealth inequality compared to other countries and there is still a wide gap between western and eastern Germany, almost 25 years after unification. In 2012, the average net worth of eastern Germans was less than half that of western Germans. Nach aktuellen Analysen auf der Basis des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) belief sich das Nettovermögen der privaten Haushalte in Deutschland im Jahr 2012 auf 6,3 Billionen Euro. Knapp 28 Prozent der erwachsenen Bevölkerung verfügten über kein oder sogar ein negatives Vermögen. Im Durchschnitt lag das individuelle Nettovermögen 2012 bei gut 83 000 Euro, es war damit nur wenig höher als zehn Jahre zuvor. Kaum verändert hat sich auch der Grad der Vermögensungleichheit. Mit einem Gini-Koeffizienten von 0,78 weist Deutschland im internationalen Vergleich ein hohes Maß an Vermögensungleichheit auf, und innerhalb des Landes besteht fast 25 Jahre nach der Vereinigung noch immer ein starkes Gefälle zwischen West- und Ostdeutschland. Das durchschnittliche Nettovermögen der Ostdeutschen war 2012 um mehr als die Hälfte niedriger als das der Westdeutschen.

Suggested Citation

  • Markus M. Grabka & Christian Westermeier, 2014. "Anhaltend hohe Vermögensungleichheit in Deutschland," DIW Wochenbericht, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 81(9), pages 151-164.
  • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwob:81-9-1
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    Cited by:

    1. Metzger, Christoph, 2018. "Intra-household allocation of non-mandatory retirement savings," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 77-87.
    2. Corneo, Giacomo G. & Bönke, Timm & Westermeier, Christian, 2016. "Erbschaft und Eigenleistung im Vermögen der Deutschen: eine Verteilungsanalyse," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 17(1), pages 35-53.
    3. Baumann, Alexendra & Wohlrabe, Klaus, 2019. "Publikationen von Wirtschaftsforschungsinstituten im deutschsprachigen Raum - Eine bibliometrische Analyse [Publications of Economic Research Insitutes in the German Speaking Area - A bibliometric ," MPRA Paper 92240, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Till van Treeck, 2015. "r>g: Why the ‘Piketty Debate’ Unsettles Germany’s Economic Experts," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 16(01), pages 26-34, May.
    5. Christoph Metzger, 2017. "Who is saving privately for retirement and how much? New evidence for Germany," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(6), pages 811-831, November.
    6. Abraham, Martin & Lorek, Kerstin & Richter, Friedemann & Wrede, Matthias, 2014. "Strictness of tax compliance norms: A factorial survey on the acceptance of inheritance tax evasion in Germany," FAU Discussion Papers in Economics 07/2014, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute for Economics.
    7. Becker, Gideon, 2015. "Econometric analysis of the wealth gap between East and West Germany," University of Tübingen Working Papers in Business and Economics 87, University of Tuebingen, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, School of Business and Economics.
    8. Lorenz, Hanno & Christl, Michael, 2015. "Armut: Ungleichheit & Verteilung," EconStor Books, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 119606, October.
    9. Pasteau, Etienne & Zhu, Junyi, 2018. "Love and money with inheritance: Marital sorting by labor income and inherited wealth in the modern partnership," Discussion Papers 23/2018, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    10. Till van Treeck, 2015. "r>g: Why the ‘Piketty Debate’ Unsettles Germany’s Economic Experts," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 16(1), pages 26-34, May.
    11. Kroh Tanja, 2016. "Wie wirken Steuern auf die Einkommens- und Vermögensverteilung?," Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 65(1), pages 022-046, May.
    12. Detzer, Daniel & Hein, Eckhard, 2014. "Financialisation and the financial and economic crises: The case of Germany," IPE Working Papers 44/2014, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    13. Theresa Köhler, 2016. "Income and Wealth Poverty in Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 857, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    14. Jan Behringer & Thomas Theobald & Till van Treeck, 2014. "Income and Wealth Distributionin Germany: A Macro-Economic Perspective," IMK Report 99e-2014, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    15. Jan Behringer & Thomas Theobald & Till van Treeck, 2014. "Einkommens- und Vermögensverteilung in Deutschland: Eine makroökonomische Sicht," IMK Report 99-2014, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    16. Walterscheid, Heike, 2015. "Eigentumsformen und die Leistungsfähigkeit marktwirtschaftlicher Koordination," Beiträge zur Jahrestagung 2015 (Bayreuth) 140888, Verein für Socialpolitik, Ausschuss für Wirtschaftssysteme und Institutionenökonomik.
    17. Tiefensee, Anita & Grabka, Markus M., 2016. "Comparing Wealth - Data Quality of the HFCS," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 10(2), pages 119-142.
    18. Bofinger, Peter & Schnabel, Isabel & Feld, Lars P. & Schmidt, Christoph M. & Wieland, Volker, 2014. "Mehr Vertrauen in Marktprozesse. Jahresgutachten 2014/15 [More confidence in market processes. Annual Report 2014/15]," Annual Economic Reports / Jahresgutachten, German Council of Economic Experts / Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung, volume 127, number 201415.
    19. Feld Lars P. & Schmidt Christoph M., 2016. "Jenseits der schrillen Töne," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 17(2), pages 188-205, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wealth inequality; wealth portfolio; SOEP;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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