This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Family trusts: ownership, size and their impact on measures of wealth and home ownership

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Phil Briggs (Reserve Bank of New Zealand)
Abstract

The number of family trusts has increased markedly in New Zealand over the last 15 years. This increase has implications for the measurement of household wealth and home ownership, since a significant proportion of dwellings are now held in family trusts. The Household Savings Survey (HSS), which was undertaken by Statistics New Zealand in 2001, collected data on household wealth, including the assets and liabilities of family trusts. HSS data is re-examined, with an emphasis on looking at the types of households that have family trusts, and also at the assets held in these trusts. The 2001 census, which included for the first time a question on whether a dwelling was held in a private trust, is also re-examined. It seems that many census respondents were confused by the census question, and results from the HSS suggest that the census total for trust dwellings is an undercount. HSS data, together with data on the number of tax returns from private trusts, is used to adjust the 2001 census tenure table. It was found that after adjustment for trust ownership, the home ownership rate still fell between 1991 and 2001. Furthermore, ownership rates fell for all age groups. Some of the difficulties that trusts pose when analysing surveys like the HSS at the unit record level are outlined, as are some suggestions for dealing with these difficulties.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/research/discusspapers/dp06_06.pdf
File Format:
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Reserve Bank of New Zealand in its series Reserve Bank of New Zealand Discussion Paper Series with number DP2006/06.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 31 p.
Date of creation: Jun 2006
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:nzb:nzbdps:2006/06

Contact details of provider:
Postal: P.O. Box 2498, Wellington
Phone: 64 4 471-3767
Fax: 64 4 471-2270
Email:
Web page: http://www.rbnz.govt.nz
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Reserve Bank of New Zealand Knowledge Centre).

Related research
Keywords:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
E01 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth
E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? A few items listed on IDEAS are over 2000 years old!

This page was last updated on 2009-12-21.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.