Household wealth in a cross-country perspective

This paper provides a comparative analysis of household wealth in the United 6 States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. We start 7 by comparing national levels and composition of financial wealth, looking at the 8 instruments in which households invest: deposits, securities other than shares, 9 shares and other equity, mutual funds, pension funds, and insurance products. 10 We then discuss the empirical evidence on household indebtedness and real 11 assets across countries, providing a summary of the situation with regard to 12 total household wealth (i.e. net financial assets plus real assets). The analysis of 13 aggregate wealth is accompanied by an examination of micro data on household 14 asset participation and the distribution of household net worth. Finally, we study 15 some correlations and run a simple econometric exercise on the links between 16 household wealth and selected economic indicators, with particular focus on 17 saving.