26 U 0206:05-05-26 0206:05-05-26 08:32:25.000 0206:05-05-26 utf8 0 Osu Text txt Computermedien c Online-Ressource cr 1970358750 10.2478/ie-2026-0021 KXP 1970358750 eng rda 2026 https://reference-global.com/pddf/10.2478/ie-2026-0021 application/pdf H LF https://doi.org/10.2478/ie-2026-0021 R LF DE-206 Namensnennung 4.0 International CC BY 4.0 Creative Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ DE-206 Open Access Controlled Vocabulary for Access Rights http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 Do higher wealth levels really guarantee higher returns? a euro area test Marc Peter Radke 50302788X Tpv3 gnd/124023223 18453464X piz Radke Marc Peter 1972 VerfasserIn aut 61 2026 2 4 112-122 Enthalten in 340880422 Obv zdb/2066476-X 118853732 1613-964X Intereconomics Kiel ZBW - Leibniz-Informationszentrum für Wirtschaft 1966 Online-Ressource 202600000610002888 49 Aufsatz in Zeitschrift Article JEL D31 G11 Euro area household wealth accumulation is commonly perceived to be impaired by negative return shocks, wealth-reducing policy measures and suboptimal investment behaviour. It is further assumed that poorer households are disproportionately affected, earn lower returns and that wealth inequality is thereby amplified. This article challenges these assumptions by providing the first comprehensive estimates of real asset and equity returns by wealth group for France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the euro area as a whole, using a new Eurosystem data set from 2011 onwards. The results show that, except in Spain, real asset returns rise with net wealth. Real equity returns display a U-shaped pattern in Germany, France and the euro area - where both poorer and very wealthy households achieve higher returns than the middle class - while returns are positively correlated with net wealth in Italy and negatively in Spain. These patterns reflect heterogeneous asset returns and leverage dynamics both within and between countries. 26 PICA 05-05-26 05-05-26 08:32:25.000 utf8 05-05-26 6418 0206 4962891146 05-05-26 x1z in08 12