Distribution of wealth in Austria
The distribution of wealth in Austria is synonymous with the distribution of property, money and Beteiligungs assets to individuals or groups of people in Austria . Austria has for a study of the Austrian National Bank is a distinct inequality of net assets on. The reason for this is that internationally, a relatively large number of people rent and only 60% live in property, in Vienna only 18%. Real estate, however, represents the majority of wealth, because it is worth twice as much as company investments and three times as large as financial assets.
history
For the years 1820 to 1913, the Gini coefficient for the region that represents Austria today (then the Austrian Empire and from 1867 Austria-Hungary ) is estimated to be between 0.86 and 0.90. (A Gini coefficient of 0 means absolute equal distribution, 1 absolute inequality.) The main cause of the increase in inequality is the changed composition of society as a result of industrialization. The share of the sector with the most even distribution of wealth and relatively wealthy farmers, agriculture, is decreasing. The share of agriculture in the national economy falls from 69% in 1850 to 46% in 1890. In 1850, 27.6% of the working population are farmers, 33.9% agricultural workers. In 1890 there are 18.4% peasants and 23% farm workers. In contrast, the proportion of industrial workers rose from 14.6% in 1850 by 10 percent to 25.3% in 1890. The following table shows the average wealth of these occupational groups in Austrian guilders (values from 1914).
Assets of professional groups
| 1820-1866 | 1867-1913 | |
|---|---|---|
| Farmer | 3094 | 4869 |
| Farm workers | 348 | 417 |
| Industrial workers | 300 | 492 |
The following table shows the decrease in agriculture and the increase in industrial workers:
Proportion of occupational groups
| 1850 | 1890 | |
|---|---|---|
| farmers | 27.6% | 18.4% |
| Farm workers | 33.9% | 23% |
| Industrial workers | 14.6% | 25.3% |
A major reason for the increase in inequality in the distribution of wealth lies in the sharp decrease in the number of comparatively wealthy farmers by around 10% and the strong increase in industrial workers who are ten times poorer by around 10%. At the same time, the wealth of entrepreneurs and most other professions outside the agricultural sector increases in relative terms.
Current situation
Median versus average
The median wealth or wealth in Austria is currently around € 76,000. This means that half of all households in Austria own less than 76,000 euros in monetary and material assets. The average wealth is significantly higher, at around 265,000 euros. The mean wealth, which is significantly lower than the average wealth, indicates a strong unequal distribution. Pension commitments are not taken into account here.
Gini coefficient
The distribution of real assets in Austria has a Gini coefficient of 0.77, the distribution of monetary wealth has a Gini coefficient of 0.74. In net terms, tangible and financial assets together have a Gini coefficient of 0.76.
Table overview
The following is an overview of the wealth concentration of gross wealth:
| Group of households |
Assets in% |
|---|---|
| total | 100.0% |
| Top 5% | 45% |
| next 15% wealthy | 29% |
| next 30% upper middle | 22% |
| lower half 50% | 4% |
Self-assessments
Households were asked how wealthy they consider themselves to be compared to all other Austrians. Most households miscalculate strongly, and do so with a distortion towards the middle. Most very wealthy households consider themselves relatively less wealthy, and the less wealthy consider themselves relatively wealthier than they actually are. The self-perceived wealth inequality in Austria thus turns out to be significantly lower than the actual inequality recorded.
Pension entitlements
According to the specialist literature, an expanded concept of wealth, taking into account the pension assets or net pension assets, leads to a dampening of inequality. Rolf-Jürgen Hober as well as Dieter Brümmerhoff and Thiess Büttner alluded to this effect. The authors of the German Institute for Economic Research on an inequality study in 2010 saw the non-consideration of pension entitlements as a major weak point of studies. In their study relating to Germany, inequality is significantly dampened by old-age pension assets, although they note that a large concentration of wealth remains. Regarding the informative value of the inclusion of these entitlements, however, they also point out that the claims to old-age pension assets are essentially fictitious because, in contrast to already existing assets, they cannot be invested and the level of the policy can be changed.
According to a study by the Institute for Higher Studies (IHS), Vienna from 2013, the average earner in Austria has net pension assets that are significantly higher than their average net assets. In this study, the IHS comes to the following conclusion: If one determines the expanded total assets from the pension assets and the financial and tangible assets, then the inequality of the total assets is significantly lower than that of the pure financial and tangible assets. According to the present estimate, the Gini coefficient, which measures inequality, is 0.69 for financial and tangible assets, 0.26 for the distribution of net disposable income, and 0.4 for the distribution of total net wealth. In summary, it can be stated that the relatively high inequality of financial and tangible assets is to a large extent a consequence of the well-developed welfare state and says little about the inequality of total net wealth.
literature
- Oesterreichische Nationalbank: Facts on the distribution of wealth in Austria, 2012
- Michael Pammer : Inequality in property incomes in nineteenth-century Austria (PDF; 145 kB), Journal of Income Distribution, 9 (2000) pp. 65–87.
Web links
- Distribution of wealth in the EU according to a study by the European Central Bank
- interactive processing of wealth distribution in Austria
- Graphic representation of the Austrian wealth pyramid
swell
- ↑ Oesterreichische Nationalbank: Facts on the distribution of wealth in Austria, 2012 ( Memento of the original dated November 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , P. 255.
- ↑ Philipp Geymüller, Michael Christl Teurer Wohnen ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed June 2, 2015.
- ↑ What really makes Austrians so “poor”. If you want to eradicate inequality, you have to promote property. The press, accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ Michael Pammer: Inequality in property incomes in nineteenth-century Austria (PDF; 145 kB), Journal of Income Distribution, 9 (2000), pp. 65–87, in particular: pp. 75–76.
- ↑ Michael Pammer: Inequality in property incomes in nineteenth-century Austria , Journal of Income Distribution, 9 (2000), pp. 65-87, cf. also: Peter H. Lindert: Early inequality and industrialization Introduction , p. 7, in: ders. Journal of Income Distribution 9 (2000) (PDF; 60 kB).
- ^ Oesterreichische Nationalbank: Facts on the distribution of wealth in Austria. 2012, p. 256f.
- ^ Oesterreichische Nationalbank: Facts on the distribution of wealth in Austria. 2012, p. 257.
- ^ Oesterreichische Nationalbank: Facts on the distribution of wealth in Austria. 2012, p. 258.
- ^ Oesterreichische Nationalbank: Facts on the distribution of wealth in Austria. 2012, p. 261.
- ^ Oesterreichische Nationalbank: Facts on the distribution of wealth in Austria. 2012, p. 254.
- ^ Oesterreichische Nationalbank: Facts on the distribution of wealth in Austria. 2012, p. 265.
- ^ Rolf Jürgen Hober: Pension assets in the distribution of assets, Publisher: Tübingen, 1981, p. 41. ISBN 9783163437920
- ↑ Dieter Brümmerhoff, Thiess Büttner: Finanzwissenschaft, Oldenbourg's textbooks and handbooks of the economic u. Social Sciences, 2014, p. 294.
- ↑ Pension assets dampen inequality , page 10, from January 18, 2010, German Institute for Economic Research , accessed on December 6, 2015
- ↑ Pension assets dampen inequality , January 18, 2010, German Institute for Economic Research , p. 4.
- ↑ Keuschnigg et al., On the Taxation of Wealth in Austria Volume, Distribution and Economic Effects, 2013 , from February 2013, Institute for Higher Studies , accessed on December 6, 2015
