Revised Estimates of Personal Sector Wealth for South Africa

In common with many emerging market countries, South Africa`s government does not publish balance sheet wealth estimates on a market value basis, as produced in the U.S., U.K., Japan, and elsewhere. Yet without information on the market values of liquid and illiquid personal sector wealth, it is difficult to explain aggregate consumer spending and saving, consumers` demand for credit, and the broad money holdings of households. Behavioural equations for these variables are key components of central banks` macro-econometric models, used in forecasting and policy-making. Understanding the domestic asset value channel of the monetary policy transmission mechanism is especially important for inflation targeting countries.