Wealth in Spain 1900–2017 A Country of Two Lands

Abstract

Abstract This study reconstructs Spain’s national wealth from 1900 to 2017. By combining new sources with existing accounts, we estimate the wealth of both private and government sectors and use a new asset-specific decomposition of the long-run accumulation of wealth. We find that, during the twentieth century, the national wealth-to-income ratio remained within a relatively narrow range—between 400% and 600%—until the housing boom of the early 2000s led to an unprecedented rise to 800% in 2007. Our results highlight the importance of land, housing capital gains and international capital flows as key elements of wealth accumulation.