Intergenerational Transfers and the Accumulation of Wealth

William Gale and John Scholz

Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1994, vol. 8, issue 4, 145-160

Abstract: This paper uses household data to provide direct estimates of intergenerational transfers as a source of wealth. The authors distinguish between intended transfers (for example, gifts to other households) and possibly unintended transfers (bequests) and estimate that intended transfers account for at least 20 percent of net worth. Thus, a significant portion of the U.S. wealth cannot be explained by the life-cycle model, even when the model is augmented to allow for bequests. Estimated bequests can account for an additional 31 percent of net worth. The authors also show that transfers among living people are about half as large as bequests.

JEL-codes: D31 D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1994
Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.8.4.145
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (358)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Intergenerational Transfers and Accumulation of Wealth (1993)
Working Paper: Intergenerational Transfers and the Accumulation of Wealth (1991)
Working Paper: Intergenerational transfers and the accumulation of wealth
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