The Anatomy of the Global Saving Glut

Arbeitspapier

This paper provides a household-level perspective on the rise of global saving and wealth since the 1980s. We calculate asset-specific saving flows and capital gains across the wealth distribution for the G3 economies – the U.S., Europe, and China. In the past four decades, global saving inequality has risen sharply. The share of household saving flows coming from the richest 10% of household increased by 60% while saving of middle-class households has fallen sharply. The most important source for the surge in top-10% saving was the secular rise of global corporate saving whose ultimate owners the rich households are. Housing capital gains have supported wealth growth for middle-class households despite falling saving and rising debt. Without meaningful capital gains in risky assets, the wealth share of the bottom half of the population declined substantially in most G3 economies.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 9732

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions ; Macroeconomics: Consumption; Saving; Wealth ; Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy ; Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: 1913-
• Subject: income and wealth inequality ; household portfolios ; historical micro data

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Bauluz, Luis ; Novokmet, Filip ; Schularick, Moritz
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2022

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/260862
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET