In this paper we describe the portfolio structure of poor households within the euro area using micro-data from the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS), the Luxembourg Wealth Study (LWS) and the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS). Our approach differs from existing ones in that we analyse the (net) wealth-poor instead of the income-poor households. We are able to identify households in the bottom net wealth decile and study their portfolio structure. From a methodological point of view, our study shows that a poverty indicator based on households net wealth needs to be designed and interpreted with great care. Given that wealth accumulates over time and (high income) households can borrow against their future income stream, it is not clear whether low net wealth holdings are really indicative of being poor, for example in the sense of material deprivation or consumption opportunities. Since consumption can be financed from wealth and income, an indicator combining wealth and income may be a solution. We find significant heterogeneity in the portfolios of households in the bottom net wealth decile across countries. The characteristics of the group of households with low wealth are different across countries as well. Real assets are held by fewer less wealthy households than financial assets and almost all wealth-poor households own deposits and sight accounts, but only a few have mortgage debt. Wealth-poor households are, on average, smaller than other households and their heads are younger. Additionally, less wealthy households are not the unemployed households with low education levels. In some countries high educated household heads and full-time employees belong to the wealth-poor. The poor households spend, on average, about 20 percent of their gross income on food.

中文翻译：

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欧洲的贫困：社会人口统计学、投资组合和贫困家庭的消费

在本文中，我们使用来自家庭金融和消费调查 (HFCS)、卢森堡财富研究 (LWS) 和卢森堡收入研究 (LIS) 的微观数据来描述欧元区贫困家庭的投资组合结构。我们的方法与现有方法的不同之处在于，我们分析的是（净）贫富家庭，而不是收入贫困家庭。我们能够识别处于最低净财富十分位数的家庭并研究他们的投资组合结构。从方法论的角度来看，我们的研究表明，需要非常谨慎地设计和解释基于家庭净财富的贫困指标。鉴于财富会随着时间的推移而积累，并且（高收入）家庭可以借用未来的收入流，目前尚不清楚低净财富持有量是否真的表明贫穷，例如在物质匮乏或消费机会的意义上。由于消费可以从财富和收入中获得资金，因此结合财富和收入的指标可能是一个解决方案。我们发现各国净财富最低十分位数家庭的投资组合存在显着异质性。低财富家庭群体的特征也因国家而异。与金融资产相比，较少富裕家庭持有实物资产，几乎所有贫困家庭都拥有存款和活期账户，但只有少数家庭拥有抵押贷款。平均而言，贫富家庭比其他家庭要小，而且他们的户主更年轻。此外，较不富裕的家庭不是教育水平低的失业家庭。在一些国家，受过高等教育的户主和全职雇员属于贫富阶层。贫困家庭平均将其总收入的 20% 左右用于食品。