Mapping Trends and Gaps in Household Wealth across OECD Countries

Carlotta Balestra (), Jakub Caisl and Luiz Hermida

No 51, LWS Working papers from LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg

Abstract: This paper builds on previous OECD research to analyse medium-term and recent trends in household wealth and highlight potential implications for inequality of opportunity. While household net wealth increased, and wealth inequality declined during the late 2010s, experimental evidence based on Distributional Wealth Accounts (DWA) offers mixed findings on how these trends have evolved amid the cost-of-living crisis. The paper then focuses on homeownership, usually a key pathway for wealth accumulation, and finds that rising house prices have made it increasingly difficult for young and low-wealth households to enter the housing market, a trend that could exacerbate wealth disparities. The analysis also highlights significant wealth gaps across different demographic groups, particularly between younger and older generations, as well as disparities linked to gender, migrant status, and geographic location.

Pages: 56 pages
Date: 2025-12
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Published in OECD Papers on Well-Being and Inequalities, No. 37, (2025): OECD Publishing, Paris

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:lis:lwswps:51

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