Household Wealth and Inheritance Transfers: Evidence from the Euro Area

Abstract

The accumulation of wealth by households is an essential contributor towards macroeconomic and financial stability and resilience, while also affecting social mobility. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between household wealth and the receipt of inheritances and intergenerational transfers. We use detailed micro-level data from the 2017 vintage of the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) for households across the Euro Area in order to explore this relationship in detail, analyzing various classes of assets and liabilities, together with inflows of inheritances and gifts between 2014 and 2017, as well as any associated wealth effects. The results show that inheritance flows are positively and significantly-associated with net overall household wealth, primarily via increases in the value of liquid assets like publicly-traded shares and the value of existing self-employment business, while reducing mortgage debt, particularly outstanding loans related to the household’s main residence. We find no evidence of any wealth effects from inheritances in terms of increased consumption expenditure, leisure spending or motor vehicle ownership. These findings collectively suggest that households anticipated the bequests received, with behavior in line with predictions emanating from standard rational expectations life cycle income hypothesis models.