Abstract

We provide an in-depth analysis of household wealth in the main advanced countries. We start by analyzing the evolution of household wealth in Italy since 1950, looking at real and financial assets. Then we compare financial and real assets of households in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, the USA and Japan. We distinguish between price and quantity effects as determinants of changes in financial wealth. We study the differences in the composition of household financial wealth across countries, looking at deposits, bonds, shares, mutual funds, and insurance/pension instruments. We summarize the main trends of household debt and conclude comparing net household wealth per capita.