Measuring the Gender Asset Gap: Evidence from Spain

Abstract

While the income gender gap has been widely researched to date, less attention has been paid to the wealth gender gap. This paper analyses individual-level data of the Spanish tax agency between 2012 and 2017 and documents the existence of an increasing wealth gap in Spain in this period. It also finds a clear difference in wealth accumulation patterns between both genders, especially in what respects holdings of equity in productive companies. Additionally, it finds that both women and men in the highest quantiles of the wealth distribution have increased their wealth and that men hold more assets that women. With respect to income distribution, the data shows men’s income accounts for a larger share of total income, which reinforces the gender gap related to economic resources.