Zur Entwicklung der Vermögensungleichheit in Deutschland

For a long time, the social policy discussion in Germany has been heavily dominated by income inequality and poverty risk rates, while at the same time the analysis of personal wealth distribution was underdeveloped, last but not least due to a severe lack of appropriate data. Using representative micro data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), this paper analyzes individual level information on net wealth for 2002 and 2007. This five year period saw a pronounced increase in both income and wealth inequality. More detailed analyses by SES reveal significant differences in wealth holdings by migration status, education level, region, income level as well as across age groups. This cross-sectional perspective is being enriched by panel analyses focusing on correlates of individual wealth holdings as well as on determinants of wealth mobility. Using a multivariate regression framework we find clear indication for the relevance of the individual employment and income career as well as a sustaining importance of intergenerational transmission (by means of bestowals and inheritance) for both wealth accumulation and mobility.