scholarly journals The Wealth Inequality of Nations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian T. Pfeffer ◽  
Nora Waitkus
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Financial Assets ◽  
Working Paper ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Institutional Determinants ◽  
Housing Equity ◽  
Real Assets ◽  
Cross National

Comparative research on income inequality has produced several coherent frameworks to study the institutional determinants of income stratification. In contrast, no such framework and much less empirical evidence exist to explain cross-national differences in wealth inequality. This situation is particularly lamentable as cross-national patterns of inequality in wealth diverge sharply from those in income. We seek to pave the way for new explanations of cross-national differences in wealth inequality by tracing them to the influence of different wealth components. Drawing on the literatures on financialization and housing, we argue that housing equity should be the central building block of the comparative analysis of wealth inequality.Using harmonized data on fifteen countries included in the Luxembourg Wealth Study (LWS), we first demonstrate a lack of association between national levels of income and wealth inequality and concentration. Using decomposition approaches, we then estimate the degree to which national levels of wealth inequality and concentration relate to cross-national differences in wealth portfolios and the distribution of specific asset components. Considering the role of housing equity, financial assets, non-housing real assets, and non-housing debt, we reveal that cross-national variation in wealth inequality and concentration is centrally determined by the distribution of housing equity. (Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Working Paper)

scholarly journals The Wealth Inequality of Nations

2021 ◽  
pp. 000312242110278
Author(s):  
Fabian T. Pfeffer ◽  
Nora Waitkus
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Financial Assets ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Institutional Determinants ◽  
Housing Equity ◽  
Real Assets ◽  
Cross National

Comparative research on income inequality has produced several frameworks to study the institutional determinants of income stratification. In contrast, no such framework and much less empirical evidence exist to explain cross-national differences in wealth inequality. This situation is particularly lamentable as cross-national patterns of inequality in wealth diverge sharply from those in income. We seek to pave the way for new explanations of cross-national differences in wealth inequality by tracing them to the influence of different wealth components. Drawing on the literatures on financialization and housing, we argue that housing equity should be the central building block of the comparative analysis of wealth inequality. Using harmonized data on 15 countries included in the Luxembourg Wealth Study (LWS), we demonstrate a lack of association between national levels of income and wealth inequality and concentration. Using decomposition approaches, we then estimate the degree to which national levels of wealth inequality and concentration relate to cross-national differences in wealth portfolios and the distribution of specific asset components. Considering the role of housing equity, financial assets, non-housing real assets, and non-housing debt, we show that cross-national variation in wealth inequality and concentration is centrally determined by the distribution of housing equity.

Electoral Systems and Women’s Representation

2017 ◽  
pp. 174-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona Lena Krook
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Cross National

Comparative research highlights electoral systems as an important variable explaining cross-national variations in women’s political representation worldwide. This chapter summarizes key patterns in women’s representation globally. It maps existing research on gender and electoral systems, focusing on the role of electoral formulas, district and party magnitude, and ballot structure in shaping women’s opportunities to be elected. It then identifies three areas within the gender literature that have foregrounded elements of electoral systems to generate new insights into central dynamics of political life. The chapter concludes with a discussion of emerging areas of research related to gender, electoral systems, and political representation.

scholarly journals What Matters in a Job? A Multi-Level Study of Job Preference Orientations and the Intrinsic Quality of Work in 25 Societies

Societies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Michal Kozák
Keyword(s):  
Social Survey ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Power Resources ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Institutional Determinants ◽  
Job Preference ◽  
Intrinsic Quality ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Cross National

This paper examines cross-national differences in job preference orientations from the perspective of job quality. In particular, it investigates the extent to which preferences of workers in 25 developed societies are shaped by the intrinsic quality of jobs and its institutional determinants, as highlighted by varieties of capitalism (VoC) and power resources theory (PRT). The study uses multi-level models with country-specific random intercepts fitted to individual data from the International Social Survey Programme’s 2015 Work Orientations module, paired with institutional indicators from various sources. The results show that workers within countries tend to be oriented towards the same types of rewards that their jobs offer, with the intrinsic quality of work standing out as the most important factor of all. This logic extends to the cross-national variation in job preference orientations, which is strongly related to the average intrinsic quality of jobs in national labor markets and its institutional factors emphasized by PRT, rather than VoC.

scholarly journals The Composition and Drawdown of Wealth in Retirement

2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 95-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Poterba ◽  
Steven Venti ◽  
David Wise
Keyword(s):  
Health And Retirement Study ◽  
Retirement Age ◽  
Financial Assets ◽  
Home Equity ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Retirement Saving ◽  
Housing Equity ◽  
Retirement Study

This paper presents evidence on the resources available to households as they enter retirement. It draws heavily on data collected by the Health and Retirement Study. We calculate the “potential additional annuity income” that households could purchase, given their holdings of non-annuitized financial assets at the start of retirement. We also consider the role of housing equity in the portfolios of retirement-age households and explore the extent to which households draw down housing equity and financial assets as they age. Because home equity is often conserved until very late in life, for many households it may provide some insurance against the risk of living longer than expected. Finally, we consider how our findings bear on a number of policy issues, such as the role for annuity defaults in retirement saving plans.

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