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Prices of real and financial assets fell substantially in the UK during 2008–09. The fourth wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) was in the field throughout this ‘financial crisis’. We use these data and earlier ELSA waves first to document the effect of the crisis on the finances of those aged 50 and over in England, and second, to estimate the effect of wealth shocks on household consumption and individual expectations of the future. Many household experienced a significant wealth shocks, but these shocks led to modest spending effects and small revisions to expectations regarding future bequests. Expectations of bequests seem particularly tied to housing wealth.
Authors
CPP Co-Director
James is Senior Research Fellow and Professor of Economics at Manchester, working on broad issues in the economics of retirement, savings and health.
Deputy Director
Carl, a Deputy Director, is an editor of the IFS Green Budget, is expert on the UK pension system and sits on the Social Security Advisory Committee.
Research Fellow University of Michigan
Tom is a Research Fellow at IFS, a Research Professor for the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.
Rowena Crawford
Working Paper details
- DOI
- 10.1920/wp.ifs.2012.1209
- Publisher
- IFS
Suggested citation
Banks, J et al. (2012). The effect of the financial crisis on older households in England. London: IFS. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/effect-financial-crisis-older-households-england-0 (accessed: 4 May 2024).
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