The debt crisis changed who owns wealth in Greece and five other hard-hit eurozone countries, leaving a greater share in the hands of richer households more than a decade later, according to a new analysis by European Central Bank researchers.
Across the six countries, the wealthiest 10% of households held 51.8% of total net wealth in 2023, up from 46% in 2010. The poorest half owned 9%, down from 10.4%. The figures cover Greece, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain collectively, rather than Greece alone.
The analysis, published Wednesday, found that the group’s Gini index, which tracks inequality, rose from 61.5 in 2010 to 65.9 in 2023. In other eurozone countries, the index fell from 71.8 to 69.7 over the same period.
Net wealth refers to the value of household assets after debts have been deducted. That distinction matters because the figures describe what households own, not simply what they earn.
How the debt crisis changed wealth ownership in Greece
Researchers linked much of the widening gap to the collapse in house prices during the sovereign debt crisis of 2010 to 2013. Families with mortgages lost property value while the amount they owed remained largely unchanged.
Households with fewer assets also drew down their savings. Share prices, meanwhile, recovered relatively quickly, benefiting those more likely to own stocks, generally households toward the wealthier end of the scale.
The effects lasted beyond the initial downturn. Homeownership declined in the six hardest-hit countries, particularly among younger households. When property values eventually rose, fewer families owned homes and could benefit from the recovery.
Lower-wealth households also struggled to rebuild savings. The uneven property recovery created what researchers called “persistent upward pressure on wealth inequality.” The inequality measure for the six countries continued rising through 2021 and remained unchanged in 2023, long after the first surge in the eurozone debt crisis.
The wider eurozone saw a different recovery in household wealth
The broader eurozone followed a different path. Its Gini index climbed from 68.2 in 2010 to 69.7 in 2014, then declined to 68.5 by 2023, nearly returning to its starting point.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, government assistance helped keep inequality steady. The inflation surge of 2021 to 2023 eroded purchasing power, especially for households with limited savings, but also reduced the inflation-adjusted value of debt. Those effects helped narrow overall wealth differences.
The findings were reported by Danilo Bianco, Jiri Slacalek and Oreste Tristani, who examined data from the Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey. The research draws on roughly 90,000 household interviews across 22 countries, showing how a recovery across the eurozone can mask lasting financial divides in its hardest-hit economies.
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