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Wealth inequality in Central and Eastern Europe: Evidence from household survey and rich lists’ data combined

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  • Michał Brzeziński
  • Katarzyna Sałach
  • Marcin Wroński

Abstract

We study how the problem of the ‘missing rich’, the underrepresentation of the wealthiest in household surveys, affects wealth inequality estimates for the post‐socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The survey data from the second wave of the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) are joined with the data from the national rich lists for Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia. Pareto distribution is fitted to the joined survey and rich lists’ data to impute the missing observations for the largest wealth values. We provide the first estimates of the top‐corrected wealth inequality for the CEE region in 2013/2014. Despite a short period of wealth accumulation during the post‐1989 market economy period, our adjustment procedure reveals that wealth inequality in the Baltic countries is comparable to that of Germany (one of the most wealth‐unequal countries in Europe), while in Poland and Hungary it has reached levels observed in France or Spain. We discuss possible explanations of these findings with reference to the speed and range of privatization processes, extent of income inequality, and the role of inheritances and wealth taxes in the region.

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  • Michał Brzeziński & Katarzyna Sałach & Marcin Wroński, 2020. "Wealth inequality in Central and Eastern Europe: Evidence from household survey and rich lists’ data combined," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(4), pages 637-660, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:ectrin:v:28:y:2020:i:4:p:637-660
    DOI: 10.1111/ecot.12257
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    3. Sierminska, Eva & Wroński, Marcin, 2022. "Inequality and Public Pension Entitlements," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1212, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Marcin Wroński, 2023. "The Displacement Effects of Social Security Wealth in a Transition Economy: The Case of Poland," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 1, pages 19-40.
    5. Marcin Wroñski, 2021. "Can the wealth tax be a remedy for public finance and reduce wealth inequalities in Poland?," IBS Policy Papers 03/2021, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    6. Wroński, Marcin, 2023. "The full distribution of adult height in Poland: Cohorts born between 1920 and 1996. The biological cost of the economic transition," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    7. Robayo, Monica & Balaban,Georgiana & Wronski,Marcin, 2024. "Tax Compliance in Romania," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10940, The World Bank.
    8. Xie, Xiaohong & Osińska, Magdalena & Szczepaniak, Małgorzata, 2023. "Do young generations save for retirement? Ensuring financial security of Gen Z and Gen Y," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 644-668.
    9. Michal Brzezinski & Katarzyna Salach, 2022. "Determinants of inequality in transition countries," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 496-496, June.
    10. Daniel Kolář, 2025. "Wealth survey calibration using income tax data," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 32(3), pages 741-781, June.
    11. Marcin Wroński, 2022. "Household wealth in Central and Eastern Europe Explaining the wealth gap between Poland and Hungary," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 53(5), pages 443-474.
    12. Marandici, Ion, 2024. "Oligarchs, Political Ties and Nomenklatura Capitalism: Introducing a New Dataset," MPRA Paper 120709, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Edison Jakurti, 2024. "Business Equity and Wealth Inequality in Central and Eastern Europe," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 66(4), pages 717-752, December.
    14. Iveta Ķešāne & Maija Spuriņa, 2024. "Sociological Types of Precarity Among Gig Workers: Lived Experiences of Food Delivery Workers in Riga," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 12.

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