Project description
A comprehensive understanding of wealth inequality dynamics
The gap between the wealthy and the rest is widening, meaning that while some people get richer, others struggle. To understand why this happens, it is important to look beyond just how much money people have at a certain point. With this in mind, the ERC-funded WEALTHTRAJECT project will study how people’s wealth changes over their lives, and why some end up with more than others. Specifically, it pioneers a dynamic approach to understanding this issue. Instead of static snapshots, it examines the diverse long-term trajectories of wealth accumulation within and between social groups. By integrating various strands of literature, the project investigates the drivers behind these trajectories, including income, family transfers, and asset investments.
Objective
WEALTHTRAJECT is the first project to comprehensively and systematically examine diversity in long-term trajectories of wealth accumulation within and between social groups.
Wealth inequality is on the rise in many affluent societies. It is time to move beyond prevailing static snapshots of average wealth inequality between people to understand this trend. Instead, a dynamic perspective on wealth changes experienced by people over their lifetimes is needed. This dynamic perspective reveals how diverse the trajectories of wealth accumulation are, i.e. the degree of trajectory variability.
WEALTHTRAJECT integrates disconnected strands of literature to study how variability in trajectories emerges over time through the interplay of saving and spending of income, receipt of transfers from parents and other family members, and (de-)investment in (un-)profitable assets.
WEALTHTRAJECT addresses four main innovative objectives: (i) to document variability in wealth trajectories over people's lives; (ii) to identify intragenerational drivers of variability in wealth trajectories; (iii) to establish the intergenerational relationships between family background and wealth trajectories; (iv) to collect novel life history data on wealth accumulation trajectories.
To address these objectives, WEALTHTRAJECT innovates by adopting a novel approach emphasising the diverse patterns of wealth gains and losses in people's lives. The project challenges the prevalent idea of a uniform hump-shaped life cycle accumulation pattern in wealth.
WEALTHTRAJECT breaks new ground by combining longitudinal data from surveys and registers and original life history data on wealth that, for the first time, allow the mapping of wealth trajectories over extended periods of people's lives. Advanced quantitative methods are applied to leverage the untapped potential of these data.
WEALTHTRAJECT lays the foundations for a new understanding of wealth inequality to inform relevant social policies.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
10117 Berlin
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.