The Joint Distribution of Wealth and Income Risk: Evidence from Bern
Matthias Krapf  1@  
1 : University of Basel

Using detailed tax data from the Swiss canton of Bern, I document new facts on the joint distribution of wealth and income risk, i.e. wealth, income and changes in wealth and income. First, a substantial share of taxpayers have negative net wealth. While wealth and income are positively correlated for positive net wealth taxpayers, this correlation is negative for negative net wealth taxpayers, indicating that these include a disproportionate share of high-income investors. Second, these negative net wealth investors experience sharp increases in wealth and income in subsequent periods. Third, wealth risk is more dispersed than income risk. Fourth, I provide evidence that, among elderly individuals, high kurtosis of income risk may be positively correlated with wealth risk. I discuss implications for research on inequality and for public policy.


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