Czech Wealth Inequality

• Název práce v češtině: Česká majetková nerovnost
• Název v anglickém jazyce: Czech Wealth Inequality
• Klíčová slova: majetek, nerovnost, domácnosti
• Klíčová slova anglicky: wealth, inequality, households
• Akademický rok vypsání: 2014/2015
• Typ práce: bakalářská práce
• Jazyk práce: angličtina
• Ústav: Institut ekonomických studií (23-IES)
• Vedoucí / školitel: doc. Petr Janský, M.Sc., Ph.D.
• Řešitel: skrytý - zadáno vedoucím/školitelem
• Datum přihlášení: 11.05.2015
• Datum zadání: 12.05.2016
• Datum a čas obhajoby: 15.06.2016 08:00
• Místo konání obhajoby: IES, m 314
• Datum odevzdání elektronické podoby: 13.05.2016
• Datum proběhlé obhajoby: 15.06.2016
• Oponenti: Mgr. Jan Mareš, Ph.D.

Zásady pro vypracování

Preliminary scope of the work:
The wealth inequality is one of the major issues of modern economics. The distribution of wealth can reveal much useful information about the economy and economic development of a given country as it is one of the important indicators of well-being of its citizens. That is why I consider studying this topic important. There exist some studies dealing with wealth inequality in countries like France, USA, Britain, Canada, Japan and others, however, for the Czech Republic the remarkable research is still missing. The aim of this work will be to at least partly fill this gap by analyzing the evolution and current situation of wealth distribution in the Czech Republic. I will attempt to summarize contemporary knowledge and results of existing researches and deliver my own enumeration of wealth inequality in the Czech Republic.

Research questions:
o What is the wealth inequality in the Czech Republic?
o What is the trend in the wealth concentration?
o What do we know from the existing research?
o What can we learn from available data and what other data would be needed?

Methodology:
I will exert effort to answer the questions mentioned above by analyzing available data for the Czech Republic gathered from national accounts and publicly accessible databases. I plan to use three core sources of data: data on aggregate wealth, data on aggregate income, and the tax data to determine the level of wealth inequality in the Czech Republic. I will apply the usual economic approach to wealth – take it as “the net worth” (total assets minus total liabilities). I will use the household balance sheet data for the Czech Republic applying the balance sheet approach to estimate the average wealth levels.
To evaluate the distribution of wealth I will use the estimates of income distribution because direct data on wealth distribution are not available for the Czech Republic. Here I will have to rely on the assumption that wealth inequality is highly correlated with income inequality. I will possibly have to adjust the estimates by the more reliable results from countries for which the wealth data are available.
The principal goal for me would be to determine the top wealth shares in the total wealth for the Czech Republic which can reveal useful information about the wealth concentration and the way in which the wealth is distributed. For this purpose I would use especially estate and wealth tax data.
Last but not least I would like to remark on the measurement problems that are connected with estimating wealth inequality, such as tax evasion behavior or the valuation of assets and on the difficulties that arise from the lack of reliable data.

Seznam odborné literatury

1. Piketty Thomas, “Capital in the Twenty-First century” (2013), ISBN 978-0674430006
2. K.Rowlingson, S. McKay „Wealth and the wealthy: Exploring and tackling inequalities between rich and poor“ (2012), ISBN 978-1847423078
3. Waldenstörm Daniel, „Lifting All Boats? The evolution of Income and Wealth Inequality over the Path of Development“(2009), ISBN: 978-91-628-7924-2
4. Fernández-Ansola, Giovanni Ganelli, Natalia Tamirisa, and AnitaTuladhard „Czech Republic – Selected Issues“ (2005) IMF Country Report No. 05/275
5 Anthony Shorrocks, Jim Davies, Rodrigo Lluberas „Global Wealth Databook 2014“ Credit Suisse Group
6. BCG: Boston Consulting Group: Estimates about the wealth distribution
7. CSO: Czech Statistical Office: Data on household wealth
8. OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development: Household balance sheet data
9. CNB: Czech National Bank: Financial balance sheet data
10. EUROSTAT: Household Budget Surveys
11. Ganelli, 2006. Household wealth in the Czech Republic: A comparative perspective. Economic Systems.

Předběžná náplň práce

-Introduction
-Overview of existing literature and research
-Data analysis, empirical research
-Outcomes
-Conclusion