IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/9128.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Wealth Portfolios in the UK and the US

Author

Listed:
  • James Banks
  • Richard Blundell
  • James P. Smith

Abstract

In this paper, we attempt to explain differences between the US and UK household wealth distributions, with an emphasis on the quite different porfolios held in stock and housing equities in the two countries. As a proportion of their total wealth, British households hold relatively small amounts of financial assets - including equities in stock - compared to American households. In contrast, British households appear to move into home ownership at relatively young ages and a large fraction of their household wealth is concentrated in houseing. Finally, the age gradient in home equity appears to be much steeper in the UK while US households exhibit a steeper age gradient in stock equity. We argue that the higher price housing price volatility in the UK combined with much younger entry into home ownership there are important factors accounting for the relatively small participation of young British householders in the stock market. We show it is important to acknowledge the dual role of housing - providing both wealth and consumption services - in understanding wealth accumulation differences between the US and the UK. Institutional differences, particularly in housing markets, that affect the demand and supply of housing services, turn out to be important in generating portfolio differences between the two countries. In particular, these differences in housing price risk imply steeper life-cycle accumulations in housing and less steep accumulation in stock equity over the life cycle in the UK.

Suggested Citation

  • James Banks & Richard Blundell & James P. Smith, 2002. "Wealth Portfolios in the UK and the US," NBER Working Papers 9128, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9128
    Note: AG
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w9128.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chiuri, Maria Concetta & Jappelli, Tullio, 2003. "Financial market imperfections and home ownership: A comparative study," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(5), pages 857-875, October.
    2. F. Thomas Juster & Joseph Lupton & James P. Smith & Frank Stafford, 2004. "Savings and Wealth; Then and Now," Labor and Demography 0403027, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. James Banks & Richard Blundell & Agar Brugiavini, 2001. "Risk Pooling, Precautionary Saving and Consumption Growth," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 68(4), pages 757-779.
    4. Steve Bond & Lucy Chennells & Michael Devereux, 1995. "Company dividends and taxes in the UK," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 16(3), pages 1-18, August.
    5. James Banks & Richard Blundell & James Smith, 2000. "Wealth inequality in the United States and Great Britain," IFS Working Papers W00/20, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    6. Di Salvo, Pamela & Ermisch, John, 1997. "Analysis of the Dynamics of Housing Tenure Choice in Britain," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 1-17, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cho, Sang-Wook (Stanley), 2010. "Household wealth accumulation and portfolio choices in Korea," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 13-25, March.
    2. Gene Amromin, 2008. "Precautionary Savings Motives and Tax Efficiency of Household Portfolios: An Empirical Analysis," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 22, pages 5-41, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Haavio, Markus & Kauppi, Heikki, 2009. "House price fluctuations and residential sorting," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 14/2009, Bank of Finland.
    4. Cho, Sang-Wook (Stanley), 2012. "Accounting For Life-Cycle Wealth Accumulation: The Role Of Housing Institution," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(4), pages 493-517, September.
    5. Grant Scobie & Trinh Le & John Gibson, 2007. "Housing in the Household Portfolio and Implications for Retirement Saving: Some Initial Finding from SOFIE," Treasury Working Paper Series 07/04, New Zealand Treasury.
    6. Iwaisako, Tokuo, 2009. "Household portfolios in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 373-382, December.
    7. François Ortalo-Magné & Sven Rady, 2006. "Housing Market Dynamics: On the Contribution of Income Shocks and Credit Constraints ," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 73(2), pages 459-485.
    8. Poh Kam Wong & Yuen Ping Ho, 2006. "Characteristics and determinants of informal investment in Singapore," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 43-70, June.
    9. Sousa, Ricardo M., 2009. "Wealth effects on consumption: evidence from the euro area," Working Paper Series 1050, European Central Bank.
    10. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2009_014 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Sousa, Ricardo M., 2010. "Housing wealth, financial wealth, money demand and policy rule: Evidence from the euro area," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 88-105, March.
    12. Markus Haavio & Heikki Kauppi, 2006. "House price fluctuations and residential sorting," 2006 Meeting Papers 774, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    13. Jane M Fry & Lisa Farrell, 2023. "Road accidents: unexpected costs of stock market movements," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 75(1), pages 233-255.
    14. Haavio, Markus & Kauppi, Heikki, 2009. "House price fluctuations and residential sorting," Research Discussion Papers 14/2009, Bank of Finland.
    15. Benjamin S. Kay, 2015. "The Effects of Housing Adjustment Costs on Consumption Dynamics," Staff Discussion Papers 15-03, Office of Financial Research, US Department of the Treasury.
    16. Ali Akbar Gholizadeh, 2014. "Capital Gains Tax and Housing Price Bubble: A Cross-Country Study," Iranian Economic Review (IER), Faculty of Economics,University of Tehran.Tehran,Iran, vol. 18(2), pages 47-71, Spring.
    17. Anita Ratcliffe, 2010. "Housing wealth or economic climate: Why do house prices matter for well-being?," The Centre for Market and Public Organisation 10/234, The Centre for Market and Public Organisation, University of Bristol, UK.
    18. Zhechun He & Peter Simmons, 2018. "A Life Cycle Model with Housing Tenure, Constrained Mortgage Finance and a Risky Asset under Uncertainty," Discussion Papers 18/18, Department of Economics, University of York.
    19. Ricardo M. Sousa, 2010. "How do Consumption and Asset Returns React to Wealth Shocks? Evidence from the U.S. and the U.K," NIPE Working Papers 14/2010, NIPE - Universidade do Minho.
    20. Andrew Benito, 2007. "Housing equity as a buffer: evidence from UK households," Bank of England working papers 324, Bank of England.
    21. Apergis, Nicholas & Hayat, Tasawar & Kadasah, Nasser A., 2019. "Subjective well-being in housing purchasing: Evidence with survey data from the U.K. housing residential market," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 328-335.
    22. He, Zhechun & Simmons, Peter, 2022. "The impact of the minimum housing scale constraint on life-cycle risky asset and housing investment," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. James Banks & Richard Blundell & James Smith, 2004. "Wealth Portfolios in the United Kingdom and the United States," NBER Chapters, in: Perspectives on the Economics of Aging, pages 205-246, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Evren Ceritoglu, 2017. "Disentangling Age and Cohorts Effects on Home-Ownership and Housing Wealth in Turkey," Working Papers 1706, Research and Monetary Policy Department, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey.
    3. James Banks & Richard Blundell & James Smith, 2000. "Wealth inequality in the United States and Great Britain," IFS Working Papers W00/20, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    4. James Banks & Richard Blundell & James P. Smith, 2001. "Financial Wealth Inequality in the United States and Great Britain," Working Papers 01-01, RAND Corporation.
    5. Frank Cowell & Eleni Karagiannaki & Abigail McKnight, 2019. "The changing distribution of wealth in the pre-crisis US and UK: the role of socio-economic factors," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 71(1), pages 1-24.
    6. Cecilia Enström Öst, 2012. "Parental Wealth and First-time Homeownership: A Cohort Study of Family Background and Young Adults’ Housing Situation in Sweden," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(10), pages 2137-2152, August.
    7. Mitchell, Olivia S. & Piggott, John, 2004. "Unlocking housing equity in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 466-505, December.
    8. Stolbov, M., 2012. "Financial Accelerator Theory and the Russian Mortgage Market," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 79-98.
    9. Rady, Sven & Ortalo-Magné, François, 2002. "Homeownership," Discussion Papers in Economics 28, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    10. Thomas J. Kniesner & James P. Ziliak, 2002. "Tax Reform and Automatic Stabilization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(3), pages 590-612, June.
    11. Giuseppe Bertola & Luigi Guiso & Luigi Pistaferri, 2005. "Uncertainty and Consumer Durables Adjustment," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 72(4), pages 973-1007.
    12. James Banks & Richard Blundell & Zoe Oldfield & James P. Smith, 2010. "Housing Mobility and Downsizing at Older Ages in Britain and the United States," Working Papers WR-787, RAND Corporation.
    13. Guillaume Claveres & Thomas Y. Mathä & Giuseppe Pulina & Jan Stráský & Nicolas Woloszko & Michael Ziegelmeyer, 2020. "Housing and inequality: The case of Luxembourg and its cross-border workers," BCL working papers 144, Central Bank of Luxembourg.
    14. Malmendier, Ulrike M. & Steiny Wellsjo, Alex, 2020. "Rent or Buy? The Role of Lifetime Experiences on Homeownership within and across Countries," CEPR Discussion Papers 14935, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Ellen R. McGrattan & Edward C. Prescott, 2005. "Taxes, Regulations, and the Value of U.S. and U.K. Corporations," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 72(3), pages 767-796.
    16. Koeniger, Winfried, 2001. "Labor and Financial Market Interactions: The Case of Labor Income Risk and Car Insurance in the UK 1969-95," IZA Discussion Papers 240, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Michael Warlters, 2023. "Stamp Duty Reform and Home Ownership," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 99(327), pages 492-511, December.
    18. Hamish Low & Luigi Pistaferri, 2015. "Disability Insurance and the Dynamics of the Incentive Insurance Trade-Off," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(10), pages 2986-3029, October.
    19. L. Hospido, 2012. "Modelling heterogeneity and dynamics in the volatility of individual wages," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(3), pages 386-414, April.
    20. Serena Trucchi, 2011. "How credit markets affect homeownership: an explanation based on differences between Italian regions," CeRP Working Papers 122, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9128. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.