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> Anecdotally, my acquaintances who emigrated from the former soviet bloc It's difficult to generalize the wealth of Europe, so this is not strictly wrong, but

> Anecdotally, my acquaintances who emigrated from the former soviet bloc It's difficult to generalize the wealth of Europe, so this is not strictly wrong, but it's not strictly correct, either. Northern countries (at the end of the spectrum, Scandinavian nations) are typically far richer and with more stable job positions than the eastern/southern.

ChuckNorris89 6y ago
>Northern countries [..] are typically far richer Rich country != rich citizens. Look at Germany, it's the country and the mega conglomerates with their executives that are rich. The median wealth of Germans is among the lowest in EU: https://www.piie.com/sites/default/files/images/f/kirkegaard20130425-1.pdf https://www.piie.com/sites/default/files/images/f/kirkegaard...
- alexgmcm 6y ago
  That data seems really suspicious as looking at salaries in Italy/Spain I find it hard to believe Germany is so much poorer (even in the mean, let alone the median). Although I checked the data here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_per_adult https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_pe... and it agrees more or less with that graph. That's so weird and totally non-intuitive. I wonder what the cause is? EDIT: It seems income inequality isn't so bad, but wealth inequality is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_eq... I guess this is due to low rates of home ownership in Germany causing wealth to be concentrated among relatively few landlords?
- brazzy 6y ago
  That statistic is highly misleading. The median wealth in Germany is low due to a low rate of home ownership. But disposable income (purchasing power adjusted) is the highest in the entire EU (data missing for some countries, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Norway may be higher): https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/graph.do?tab=graph&plugin=0&pcode=tec00113&language=en&toolbox=type https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/graph.do?tab=graph&plugin=...
  - ChuckNorris89 6y ago
    What's the point of having a good income (Germany) if you can't afford to buy a home or accumulate enough wealth to start a business? If you can't afford a home, it means your income is not as high as you thought.
    - evgen 6y ago
      If home ownership is not the standard mechanism for long-term wealth accumulation and rental laws are such that they strongly favor the renter it makes no sense to use home ownership as your yardstick for measuring wealth. The ability to take on a huge chunk of debt with which you will speculate on real estate asset appreciation is not an indicator of income.
    - brazzy 6y ago
      Due to renter-friendly laws, home ownership is not as culturally ingrained in Germany as elsewhere. Many people who could afford buying simply choose not to.

ChuckNorris89 6y ago

>Northern countries [..] are typically far richer Rich country != rich citizens. Look at Germany, it's the country and the mega conglomerates with their executives that are rich. The median wealth of Germans is among the lowest in EU: https://www.piie.com/sites/default/files/images/f/kirkegaard20130425-1.pdf https://www.piie.com/sites/default/files/images/f/kirkegaard...

alexgmcm 6y ago
That data seems really suspicious as looking at salaries in Italy/Spain I find it hard to believe Germany is so much poorer (even in the mean, let alone the median). Although I checked the data here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_per_adult https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_pe... and it agrees more or less with that graph. That's so weird and totally non-intuitive. I wonder what the cause is? EDIT: It seems income inequality isn't so bad, but wealth inequality is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_eq... I guess this is due to low rates of home ownership in Germany causing wealth to be concentrated among relatively few landlords?
brazzy 6y ago
That statistic is highly misleading. The median wealth in Germany is low due to a low rate of home ownership. But disposable income (purchasing power adjusted) is the highest in the entire EU (data missing for some countries, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Norway may be higher): https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/graph.do?tab=graph&plugin=0&pcode=tec00113&language=en&toolbox=type https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/graph.do?tab=graph&plugin=...
- ChuckNorris89 6y ago
  What's the point of having a good income (Germany) if you can't afford to buy a home or accumulate enough wealth to start a business? If you can't afford a home, it means your income is not as high as you thought.
  - evgen 6y ago
    If home ownership is not the standard mechanism for long-term wealth accumulation and rental laws are such that they strongly favor the renter it makes no sense to use home ownership as your yardstick for measuring wealth. The ability to take on a huge chunk of debt with which you will speculate on real estate asset appreciation is not an indicator of income.
  - brazzy 6y ago
    Due to renter-friendly laws, home ownership is not as culturally ingrained in Germany as elsewhere. Many people who could afford buying simply choose not to.