The Dynamics of Household Wealth Accumulation in Italy

We examine the dynamics of wealth accumulation distribution in Italy using data drawn from the Survey of Household Income and Wealth, a representative survey of the Italian population conducted by the Bank of Italy. We compare survey data with National Accounts data and discuss sample representativeness, attrition and measurement issues. We then look at wealth inequality (the cross‐sectional dispersion of wealth) and wealth mobility (individual transitions across the wealth distribution) and examine the age profile of wealth using repeated cross‐sectional data. Finally, we consider various explanations for the pattern of wealth accumulation in Italy, focusing on retirement, bequests, income risk, health shocks and credit market imperfections.     

THE AGE-WEALTH PROFILE AND THE LIFE-CYCLE HYPOTHESIS: A COHORT ANALYSIS WITH A TIME SERIES OF CROSS-SECTIONS OF ITALIAN HOUSEHOLDS

In this paper I estimate the age-wealth profile under two different identification assumptions about age, cohort and time effects. According to the life-cycle model, the two sets of assumptions should yield similar age-wealth profiles. Using the 1984–93 Italian Survey of Household Income and Wealth, the estimated average annual rate of wealth decumulation in old age is found to be between 3 and 6 percent. As in the life-cycle model, the cohort effect increases with year of birth. However, the results also uncover considerable population heterogeneity: the rates of wealth decumulation are much lower for rich households and households headed by individuals with higher education.     

The welfare effects of liquidity constraints

We analyze the welfare implications of liquidity constraintsfor households in an overlapping generations model with growth.In a closed economy with exogenous technical progress, liquidityconstraints reduce welfare if the economy is dynamically inefficient.But if it is dynamically efficient, some degree of financialrepression is required to maximize steady-state utility, eventhough some generations are hurt in the transition. With endogenoustechnical progress, financial repression may increase welfareeven along the transition path, thus leading to a Pareto improvement.In this case the optimal degree of financial repression increasesas the economy grows.     

Do people respond to tax incentives? An analysis of the Italian reform of the deductibility of home mortgage interests

Before 1992 mortgage interests in Italy were fully tax deductible up to 3500 Euro (7000 for two cosigners). In 1992-1994 the government implemented a series of tax reforms whose ultimate effect was to eliminate the relation between the after-tax mortgage rate and the marginal tax rate. Using data from the 1989-2002 Survey of Household Income and Wealth we test if the elimination of incentives has affected the sensitivity of the decision to borrow and the amount borrowed with respect to the marginal tax rate. Regression analysis and difference-in-differences estimates indicate that tax considerations have not affected the demand for mortgage debt, neither at the extensive nor intensive margin. These results are consistent with lack of financial information and credit rationing during the sample period.     

Financial market imperfections and home ownership: A comparative study

We explore the determinants of the distribution of owner occupancy rates across age groups using a collection of microeconomic data on 14 OECD countries. In most, the survey is repeated over time. This allows us to construct an international dataset, merging data on 39 national household surveys with aggregate data on down payment ratios. We find strong evidence that the availability of mortgage finance - as measured by down payment ratios - affects the distribution of owner occupancy rates across age groups, especially at the young end. The results are consistent with previous theoretical models and have important implications for the debate on the relation between saving and growth.     

Investment in financial literacy and saving decisions

We present an intertemporal consumption model of investment in financial literacy. Consumers benefit from such investment because financial literacy allows them to increase the returns on wealth. Since literacy depreciates over time and has a cost in terms of current consumption, the model delivers an optimal investment in literacy. Furthermore, literacy and wealth are determined jointly, and are positively correlated over the life-cycle. The model drives our empirical approach to the analysis of the effect of financial literacy on wealth and saving and indicates that the stock of financial literacy early in life is a valid instrument in the regression of wealth on financial literacy. Using microeconomic and aggregate data, we find strong support for the model’s predictions.     

Does consumption inequality track income inequality in Italy?

This paper presents stylized facts on labor supply, income, consumption, wealth, and several measures of consumption and income inequality drawn from the 1980–2006 Survey of Household Income and Wealth (SHIW) conducted by the Bank of Italy. The SHIW provides information on consumption, income and wealth, and a sizable panel component that allows econometricians to estimate sophisticated income, consumption, and wealth processes and to analyze labor market and portfolio transitions. We find that over the sample period income inequality is higher and has grown faster than consumption inequality. Most of the increase in income inequality is related to an increase in the degree of earnings' instability rather than to shifts in the wage structure. We suggest that, in particular, the labor market reforms of the 1990s and 2000s are the most plausible explanation of the increased earnings inequality.     

Awareness and Stock Market Participation

The paper documents lack of awareness of financial assets in the 1995 and 1998 Bank of Italy Surveys of Household Income and Wealth. It then explores the determinants of awareness, and finds that the probability that survey respondents are aware of stocks, mutual funds and investment accounts is positively correlated with education, household resources, long-term bank relations and proxies for social interaction. Lack of financial awareness has important implications for understanding the stockholding puzzle and for estimating stock market participation costs. We thank Raman Uppal, the referee, Raffaele Miniaci and seminar participants at the Bank of Italy, the U.K. Financial Service Authority (FSA), the Universities of Padua, Salerno, Tilburg, Turin, and Venice for helpful comments. This work has been supported by the European Community’s Human Potential Programme under contract HPRN-CT-2002-00235 (AGE) and by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR).     

Financial advisors: A case of babysitters?

We use two data sets, one from a large brokerage and another from a major bank, to ask: (i) whether financial advisors are more likely to be matched with poorer, uninformed investors or with richer and experienced investors; (ii) how advised accounts actually perform relative to self-managed accounts; (iii) whether the contribution of independent and bank advisors is similar. We find that advised accounts offer on average lower net returns and inferior risk-return tradeoffs (Sharpe ratios). Trading costs contribute to outcomes, as advised accounts feature higher turnover, consistent with commissions being the main source of advisor income. Results are robust to controlling for investor and local area characteristics. The results apply with stronger force to bank advisors than to independent financial advisors, consistent with greater limitations on bank advisory services.