Household Portfolios: An International Comparison

31 Pages Posted: 6 Dec 2000

See all articles by Luigi Guiso

Luigi Guiso

Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance (EIEF); Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance

Tullio Jappelli

University of Naples Federico II - Department of Economics and Statistics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); Center for Studies in Economics and Finance - CSEF; CSEF - University of Naples Federico II - Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF)

Michael Haliassos

Goethe University Frankfurt - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration; CEPR; NETSPAR; Goethe University Frankfurt - Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability (IMFS)

Date Written: October 12, 2000

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the main findings of an international project on Household Portfolios coordinated by the authors. Contributions to the project deal with the state of the art in analytical, computational, and econometric methods of analysis of household portfolio choice, identify stylized facts and trends observed in five major countries, and discuss issues relating to the portfolios of two important population groups, namely the elderly and the rich. In this paper, we integrate the main findings of the project, compare portfolio behavior across countries, and contrast theoretical predictions to empirical findings. This allows us to identify a number of stylized facts and portfolio puzzles that future theoretical and empirical research should attempt to analyze and resolve.

Keywords: Household Portfolios, Saving, Stockholding, Risk Taking

JEL Classification: G11, E2

Suggested Citation

Guiso, Luigi and Guiso, Luigi and Jappelli, Tullio and Haliassos, Michael, Household Portfolios: An International Comparison (October 12, 2000). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=245805 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.245805

Luigi Guiso

Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance (EIEF) ( email )

Via Sallustiana 62
Rome, 00187
Italy
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+39 06 4792 4872 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.eief.it/faculty-visitors/faculty-a-z/luigi-guiso/

Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance ( email )

Via Sallustiana 62
rome, 00187
Italy

Tullio Jappelli

University of Naples Federico II - Department of Economics and Statistics ( email )

Via Cintia - Monte S. Angelo
Napoli, 80126
Italy

HOME PAGE: http://www.csef.it/people/jappelli.htm

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

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European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

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Belgium

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Center for Studies in Economics and Finance - CSEF ( email )

Via Cintia - Monte S. Angelo
Napoli, 80126
Italy

HOME PAGE: http://www.csef.it/people/jappelli.htm

CSEF - University of Naples Federico II - Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF) ( email )

Via Cintia
Complesso Monte S. Angelo
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Italy

HOME PAGE: http://www.csef.it/people/jappelli.htm

Michael Haliassos (Contact Author)

Goethe University Frankfurt - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration ( email )

Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 3
PF H32
Frankfurt am Main, D-60323
Germany

CEPR

London
United Kingdom

NETSPAR ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

Goethe University Frankfurt - Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability (IMFS) ( email )

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Frankfurt, 60323
Germany