Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/309070 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research No. 1212
Publisher: 
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin
Abstract: 
There is growing interest in understanding how gender influences the accumulation of wealth. While prior studies focused on labor-related determinants, our research focuses on inheritances and gifts. Using unique survey data that oversamples the top 1% of wealth holders in Germany, we show that the gender wealth gap is small for individuals up to age 40, then widens, and declines for those past retirement age. Transfer amounts and their timing are important drivers of these differences: men tend to inherit larger sums than women during their working life. Women often outlive their male partners, thus receiving larger inheritances at older ages.
Subjects: 
Wealth Accumulation
Wealth Inequality
Gender Wealth Gap
Inheritances
Gender Economics
JEL: 
D31
D63
J16
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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