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The functions of wealth: renters, owners and capitalists across Europe and the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Pirmin Fessler

    (Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Economic Analysis Division)

  • Martin Schürz

    (Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Economic Analysis Division)

Abstract

Piketty (2017) argues in favor of a multidimensional and relational approach to the analysis of wealth inequality. Specifically, he suggests that social classes should be analyzed in terms of the power and production relations between social groups, not just the percentiles in statistical distributions into which various groups fall. We propose such a relational approach by focusing on different functions of wealth. We operationalize functions of wealth by empirically analyzing the groups of renters, owners, and capitalists. Employing recent European and US data, we find that classifying households based on these decisive functions of wealth aligns well with the wealth distribution, in ways that vary considerably across countries. We discuss many potential advantages of this class typology in measuring and analyzing wealth and wealth inequality in particular.

Suggested Citation

  • Pirmin Fessler & Martin Schürz, 2018. "The functions of wealth: renters, owners and capitalists across Europe and the United States," Working Papers 223, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    • Handle: RePEc:onb:oenbwp:223
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alvaredo, Facundo & Atkinson, Anthony B. & Morelli, Salvatore, 2018. "Top wealth shares in the UK over more than a century," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 26-47.
    2. Davies, James B. & Shorrocks, Anthony F., 2000. "The distribution of wealth," Handbook of Income Distribution, in: A.B. Atkinson & F. Bourguignon (ed.), Handbook of Income Distribution, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 11, pages 605-675, Elsevier.
    3. Facundo Alvaredo & Anthony Atkinson & Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez, 2013. "The Top 1% in International and Historical Perspective," Post-Print halshs-00847231, HAL.
    4. Alessie, Rob & Angelini, Viola & van Santen, Peter, 2013. "Pension wealth and household savings in Europe: Evidence from SHARELIFE," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 308-328.
    5. Facundo Alvaredo & Anthony B. Atkinson & Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez, 2013. "The Top 1 Percent in International and Historical Perspective," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 27(3), pages 3-20, Summer.
    6. Feldstein, Martin S, 1974. "Social Security, Induced Retirement, and Aggregate Capital Accumulation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(5), pages 905-926, Sept./Oct.
    7. Pirmin Fessler & Martin Schürz, 2018. "Private Wealth Across European Countries: The Role of Income, Inheritance and the Welfare State," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 521-549, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Severin Rapp, 2023. "Wealth distribution and household economies of scale: Do families matter for inequality?," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp336, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    2. Rapp, Severin, 2023. "Wealth distribution and household economies of scale: Do families matter for inequality?," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 336, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    3. Pirmin Fessler & Martin Scherz, 2020. "Inheritance and equal opportunity - it is the family that matters," Public Sector Economics, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 44(4), pages 463-482.
    4. Peter Lindner & Martin Schürz, 2020. "The joint distribution of wealth, income and consumption in Austria: a cautionary note on heterogeneity," Monetary Policy & the Economy, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue Q4/19, pages 57-76.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    wealth; inequality; households; survey data; class; economic strati cation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D15 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Intertemporal Household Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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