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Household wealth in Australia

Its components, distribution and correlates

Gary N. Marks

Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne and Australian Council for Educational Research, gmarks{at}unimelb.edu.au

Bruce Headey

Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne, brucewh{at}unimelb.edu.au

Mark Wooden

Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne, m.wooden{at}unimelb.edu.au

Using data from the second wave of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, conducted in 2002, this article provides information on the composition, distribution and correlates of the wealth holdings of Australian households. The survey results indicate that Australian households have an average net worth (or wealth) of just over A$400,000, comprising assets of $473,000 and debts of $68,000. The largest component of wealth is home equity. The degree of inequality across households in wealth inequality is found to be much larger than the inequality in income and varies substantially with age and, to a lesser extent, with household type and education. Age, socio-economic background, educational attainment, marital status and the number of children can account for about 30 percent of the variation across households in (logged) wealth.

Key Words: Australia • correlates of wealth • education • HILDA Survey • inequality • marital status • wealth

Journal of Sociology, Vol. 41, No. 1, 47-68 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1440783305050963
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