Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/175058 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
IFN Working Paper No. 1121
Publisher: 
Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Stockholm
Abstract: 
We use new population-wide register data on inheritances and wealth in Sweden to estimate the causal impact of inheritances on wealth inequality. We find that inheritances reduce relative wealth inequality (e.g., the Gini coefficient falls by 5-10 percent) but that absolute dispersion increases. Examining different parts of the wealth distribution, we find that the top decile's wealth share decreases substantially, whereas the wealth share of the bottom half increases from a negative to a positive share. In essence, wealthier heirs inherit larger amounts, but less wealthy heirs inherit more relative to their preinheritance wealth. We also find that post-inheritance behavioral adjustments mitigate the equalizing effect of inheritances because less wealthy heirs consume larger shares of their inheritances. Moreover, we find that the Swedish inheritance tax reduced the equalizing inheritance effect but that the redistribution of tax revenues could reverse this result. Finally, we show that inheritances increase wealth mobility.
Subjects: 
Bequests
Estates
Net worth
Inheritance taxation
Wealth distribution
JEL: 
H24
D63
E21
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
1.01 MB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.