Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP14020
Authors: Neil Cummins
Abstract: Using individual level records of all wealth-at-death in England, 1892-1992, together with new estimates of the wealth-specific rate-of-return on wealth, I estimate a plausible minimum level of the amount of inherited wealth that is hidden. Elites conceal around 20% of their inheritance. Among dynasties, this hidden wealth, independent of declared wealth, predicts appearance in the Offshore Leaks Database of 2013-6, house values in 1999, and Oxbridge attendance, 1990-2016. Accounting for hidden wealth eliminates at least 40% of the observed decline of the top 10% wealth-share over the past century. I find 8,549 dynasties that are hiding £7.7 Billion.
Keywords: hidden wealth; inequality; economic history; big data; tax evasion
JEL Codes: N00; N33; N34; D31; H26
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| hidden wealth (E21) | higher house values (R21) |
| hidden wealth (E21) | increased likelihood of attending elite universities (I24) |
| hidden wealth (E21) | decline in top 10 wealth share (E25) |