Publication:
Usus Fructus: Taking Account of Property Use Rights in Household Wealth Measurement

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2024-10-01
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2024-10-01
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This paper discusses the inclusion of usufruct rights in household wealth estimates, emphasizing the theoretical rationale for adjusting traditional estimates that do not include this component. It then applies this concept to the Italian context using Survey on Household Income and Wealth data. Despite usufruct being relatively rare (around 3 percent of residential homes), adjusting for it impacts the wealth distribution, with some increases characterizing younger households. Overall, adjusted estimates show a significant decrease in the concentration indices compared with unadjusted ones. These findings suggest the importance of considering this component in standard household wealth estimates, particularly in countries where use rights are more common.
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D'Alessio, G.; Neri, A.; Toma, I.. 2024. Usus Fructus: Taking Account of Property Use Rights in Household Wealth Measurement. Policy Research Working Paper; 10936. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42220 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
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