Dear colleagues,

we hereby invite you the next INEQ - Economics of Inequality Research Seminar.

Nhat An Trinh (University of Oxford) will present her paper

The Principle of Dynastic Succession in Wealth Transmission on

Monday, January 29, 3.00 p.m. at the INEQ Institute (D3.0.259, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business).

Abstract Mounting research documents that wealth inequality strongly persists across generations. Inheritances and inter-vivo gifts from parents to children are key contributors to this persistence. Intergenerational transfers are yet not only made unequally between families. It has been shown that a substantial share of intergenerational transfers is also made unequally within families. In this study, we address this puzzle of unequal division and empirically investigate the distribution of intergenerational transfers through the lens of what we call the ‘principle of dynastic succession’. This principle states that intergenerational transfers are made such that the family and its wealth are carried on into the long-lasting future, leading to unequal division. Analyzing administrative data from the German inheritance and gift tax register (2007-2020), we argue that the principle is particularly salient in the presence of structuring assets (e.g. family business) and that its application varies along the estate distribution. Going beyond individual parent-child transactional relationships, the principle of dynastic succession allows to link intra-familial disparities to long-term persistence in overall wealth inequality more broadly. Thereby, it sheds light on a so far neglected mechanism through which the family generates inequalities both within and between generations.

Please register your participation here.

Best regards,

Franziska Disslbacher and Emanuel List

Research Institute Economics of Inequality

WU, Vienna University of Economics and Business