Publications - LIS Institutional Database

Database of Institutions that Build Economic Security and Asset Holdings
Version 1 (15 January 2008)

Introduction to this Dataset

In 2007, Luxembourg Wealth Study (LWS) affiliates Janet Gornick, Timothy Smeeding, Eva Sierminska and Maurice Leach carried out a research project on older women’s economic security. The project was sponsored by the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College.

The main research for this project utilized the new LWS microdata. As part of the project, the research team also constructed a database that includes country-level information on related policies, practices, and demographics. The database includes information on public and private pensions; individual savings plans and life insurance; wealth, mortgage, property, inheritance and gift taxes; inheritance policies and practices; housing policies and practices; health, disability, and life expectancy indicators; and employment, demographic and macroeconomic indicators.

The database includes the countries that are in the first release of the LWS data: Austria, Canada, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, the UK, and the US. In addition, because LWS anticipates adding wealth data from Spain before too long, this database also includes Spain.

This research team (Gornick, Smeeding, Sierminska, Leach) believes that the gathered data could be useful for both LIS and LWS microdata researchers, so LIS is making the database available on this website.

Contents

The database is available in two files. Both can be downloaded here.

First, a single large Excel file contains the tables. Each table includes comments that provide substantive notes as well as citations for that table. (Hint: If you wish to print the tables with the comments visible, download them and set the page setup settings to print the comments at the end of each worksheet. They will appear like endnotes.)

Second, a Word file contains the reference list. The reference list includes the sources found in the citations that appear throughout the tables.

The first worksheet of the Excel file contains a Table of Contents. The Table of Contents is followed by 25 worksheets – each one containing a table. The 25 tables are organized into five chapters:

Chapter 1. Income-Related Institutions (seven tables)

Chapter 2. Wealth, Inheritance And Property (six tables)

Chapter 3. Housing Policies And Practices (five tables)

Chapter 4. Health, Disability And Life Expectancy (two tables)

Chapter 5. Employment, Demographic And Macroeconomic Indicators (five tables)

A final worksheet defines some Key Terms.

Acknowledgments

These country-level data were located and compiled by City University of New York (CUNY) graduate student Maurice Leach, under the supervision of Janet Gornick. Tim Smeeding, Eva Sierminska and Markus Jäntti provided valuable advice.

Alena Bičáková contributed some of the housing-related indicators. Gary Burtless, at the Brookings Institution, provided the underlying data on nominal stock returns that were used to construct the indicators in Table 25.

Citation

If you use these data, please cite them as follows:

"The Luxembourg Wealth Study (LWS) Database of Institutions that Build Economic Security and Asset Holdings". Also, please note the version number and release date. The database currently online is:
Version 1 (15 January 2008).

Correspondence

This database represents a first attempt to compile the included information; thus, it is a first draft. We welcome all suggestions, corrections, expansions, and comments!

Please address all correspondence to Maurice Leach at mleach@gc.cuny.edu

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