Hoe zijn de vermogens in België verdeeld? Niet-technische (poging tot toch 😉) blogpost voor de Universitaire Stichting Armoedebestrijding.
Link: blog.uantwerpen.be/armoede-soci...
New study by @arthurapostel.bsky.social (
of Belgian wealth inequality 1935-2022. Findings align with broader European trends: a marked decline over the 20th C, with levels remaining historically low today.
@nbb-bnb-fr.bsky.social
Link to paper: nbb.be/fr/media/17695
abstract of BWI article
🚨 New working paper: “Belgian wealth inequality, 1935-2022” (NBB WP 477).
▸ Top 1 % owns ≈22 % of net wealth - same as bottom 75 %
▸ Inequality strongly declined last century, stabilised in recent years
PDF 👉 www.nbb.be/en/media/17695
#EconSky #Belgium #WealthInequality
🚨 New working paper 🚨
I investigate wealth mobility in the United States using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID).
#EconSky #WealthMobility
Hot off the press by @margitschratz.bsky.social: A review article on the behavioural responses to inheritance taxation. Some takeaways: Real responses are smaller than avoidance, responses are smaller in more recent studies, tax design matters, ... worth a read: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
![Robust Estimation of Private Business Wealth*
Job Market Paper
Simon J. Toussaint†
November 14, 2024
[Most recent version here]
Abstract
Estimating the market value of private businesses is essential for understanding both aggregate firm dynamics and top wealth
inequality, yet these values are inherently unobservable. This paper introduces an econometric approach that treats the gap
between true market values and initial estimates as measurement error. I employ time-series restrictions on these errors as
moment conditions within a GMM framework, and use the fitted values from these estimations as error-free estimates of
private business wealth and capital stocks. Applying this method to Dutch administrative data linking the universe of firms
to their owners, I find that aggregate private business wealth increases by 30% of GDP initially, and is more stable than the
unadjusted series. Top 1% and 0.1% wealth shares increase by 3–5 percentage points, peaking at 38% and 20%, respectively.
Adjusted returns to firm wealth exhibit a steeper gradient across the wealth distribution than unadjusted returns, consistent
with models of return heterogeneity.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wus4g34bpbzjefp547irpkeu/bafkreibg34g2k7zwmjqytkllrcxfsj5tnov22hdny74qz7ks5jwa5csbou)
Robust Estimation of Private Business Wealth* Job Market Paper Simon J. Toussaint† November 14, 2024 [Most recent version here] Abstract Estimating the market value of private businesses is essential for understanding both aggregate firm dynamics and top wealth inequality, yet these values are inherently unobservable. This paper introduces an econometric approach that treats the gap between true market values and initial estimates as measurement error. I employ time-series restrictions on these errors as moment conditions within a GMM framework, and use the fitted values from these estimations as error-free estimates of private business wealth and capital stocks. Applying this method to Dutch administrative data linking the universe of firms to their owners, I find that aggregate private business wealth increases by 30% of GDP initially, and is more stable than the unadjusted series. Top 1% and 0.1% wealth shares increase by 3–5 percentage points, peaking at 38% and 20%, respectively. Adjusted returns to firm wealth exhibit a steeper gradient across the wealth distribution than unadjusted returns, consistent with models of return heterogeneity.
📯 Job Market Paper Alert 📯
Private businesses make up 50% of sales & profits and are the main wealth component of the wealthiest households. So, what is their value? Well, that's difficult, since they're not listed: their value is unobservable by definition!
My #EconJMP tackles this problem 1/
Final week to register for our workshop "The Paradox of Belgian Inequality" on Dec 3.
In this workshop, we present the results of a 4-year research project funded by BELSPO and carried out by the KU Leuven, the University of Antwerp and the ULB.
Registration via: feb.kuleuven.be/drc/Economic...
