This paper proposes an integrated framework to analyze jointly two key issues: the emergence of global imbalances and the precautionary motive for accumulating reserves. Standard models of general equilibrium would predict modest current account surpluses in the emerging markets if they face...

A dynamic stochastic model of global equilibrium, where countries outside the U.S. face higher risk than the U.S. itself, predicts current account surpluses in the RoW and U.S. deficits. With Loss Aversion, such precautionary savings can cause substantial 'global imbalances', particularly if...

We provide the first estimate of the level and distribution of global household wealth. Mean assets and debts within countries are measured, partly or wholly, for 38 countries using household balance sheet and survey data centred on the year 2000. Determinants of mean financial assets,...

Interest in the emergence of a global middle class has resulted in a number of attempts to identify and enumerate who belongs to it . Current research provides wildly different estimates about the size and evolution of the global middle class because of a lack of consensus on appropriate...

There has been much recent research on the world distribution of income, but also growing recognition of the importance of other contributions to well-being, including those of household wealth. Wealth is important in providing security and opportunity, particularly in poorer countries that lack...

The global financial crisis of the past decade has shaken the research and policy worlds out of their belief that housing markets are mostly benign and immaterial for understanding economic cycles. Instead, a growing consensus recognizes the central role that housing plays in shaping economic...

Interest in the emergence of a global middle class has resulted in a number of attempts to identify and enumerate who belongs to it. Current research provides wildly different estimates about the size and evolution of the global middle class because of a lack of consensus on appropriate...

A large body of microeconomic evidence supports Friedman (1957)'s proposition that household income can be reasonably well described as having both transitory and permanent components. We show how to modify the widely-used macroeconomic model of Krusell and Smith (1998) to accommodate such a...

We use data from the European Household Finance and Consumption Survey in order to examine the distributional effect of intergenerational wealth transfers on the net worth distribution in 8 European countries and compare it to recent findings for the US. To do so, we resort to the decomposition...

Throughout the world, policy makers are concerned about the impact that population aging will have on the financial security of households and nations. Key questions include: (1) are the aging, and soon to be aged populations, adequately preparing for old age? and (2) how does financial...