Bequests in Vienna: Evidence from probate records

The distribution of bequests is central to many economic questions of key significance in both research and policy. Decisions concerning labour supply as well as savings and consumption depend on bequests, while the distribution of estates allows for inferences about the distribution of wealth among the living. But how are bequests (and by extension, wealth) distributed, both vertically but also horizontally between individuals with different socioeconomic characteristics? This project digitizes and exploits a to-date unused administrative data source to take a fresh look at inheritances and wealth in Austria: Individual-level probate records that also cover the very top tail of the wealth distribution, unobserved in most other data sources. We provide insights into the level and distribution of bequests and analyse the socioeconomic characterics of wealth transmission.