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 dif...

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Main Authors: Aron, J, Muellbauer, J
Format: Working paper
Language:English
Published: 2004
Subjects:
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author Aron, J
Muellbauer, J
author_facet Aron, J
Muellbauer, J
author_sort Aron, J
collection OXFORD
description 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. We construct the first coherent set of aggregate, personal sector wealth estimates at market value for South Africa. Our quarterly estimates derive from published data on financial flows, and various other capital market data, often at book value. Our methods rely, where relevant, on accumulating flow of funds data using appropriate benchmarks, and, where necessary, converting book to market values using appropriate asset price indices. Relating asset to income ratios for various asset classes to asset price movements and rates of return, throws light on the changing composition of personal sector wealth. Most striking are the rise in pension wealth - overtaking gross housing assets in the late 1980s; the rise in household debt; and the relative decline of liquid and housing assets, from the early and mid-1980s, respectively.
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spelling oxford-uuid:803ac425-9853-4ead-a5db-48f0fbb8dc5c2022-03-26T21:21:53ZRevised estimates of personal sector wealth for South AfricaWorking paperhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_8042uuid:803ac425-9853-4ead-a5db-48f0fbb8dc5cFinancial economicsMacro and international economicsEconomicsEnglishOxford University Research Archive - Valet2004Aron, JMuellbauer, JIn 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. We construct the first coherent set of aggregate, personal sector wealth estimates at market value for South Africa. Our quarterly estimates derive from published data on financial flows, and various other capital market data, often at book value. Our methods rely, where relevant, on accumulating flow of funds data using appropriate benchmarks, and, where necessary, converting book to market values using appropriate asset price indices. Relating asset to income ratios for various asset classes to asset price movements and rates of return, throws light on the changing composition of personal sector wealth. Most striking are the rise in pension wealth - overtaking gross housing assets in the late 1980s; the rise in household debt; and the relative decline of liquid and housing assets, from the early and mid-1980s, respectively.
spellingShingle Financial economics
Macro and international economics
Economics
Aron, J
Muellbauer, J
Revised estimates of personal sector wealth for South Africa
title Revised estimates of personal sector wealth for South Africa
title_full Revised estimates of personal sector wealth for South Africa
title_fullStr Revised estimates of personal sector wealth for South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Revised estimates of personal sector wealth for South Africa
title_short Revised estimates of personal sector wealth for South Africa
title_sort revised estimates of personal sector wealth for south africa
topic Financial economics
Macro and international economics
Economics
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