5 A comparison with other OECD countries (continued)
| Housing assets | Other tangible assets | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 82 | 18 |
| Canada * | 79 | 21 |
| France | 82 | 18 |
| Germany | 52 | 48 |
| Italy | 70 | 30 |
| Japan | 19 | 81 |
| New Zealand ** | 85 | 15 |
| United Kingdom | 83 | 17 |
| United States | 72 | 18 |
Source: OECD, Australian Department of the Treasury, Statistics Canada, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Infometrics.
* 1999. See Statistics Canada (2001).
** Infometrics’ estimate.
- Figure 13: Composition of household assets
- Australia
- Germany
- New Zealand *
- Source: OECD, Reserve Bank of Australia, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Statistics New Zealand and The Treasury.
- * Real assets include housing value only.
- Canada
- Italy
- United Kingdom
- France
- Japan
- United States
In most countries, the importance of real assets has fallen somewhat relative to financial assets during the 1990s. This is in part because of increases in the relative price of equities. The share of equities rose significantly during the 1990s in the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, undoubtedly helped by strong gains in these countries’ stock markets. In Germany, the share of equities also increased. But this was, in part, because of a slowing of the housing market following the unification boom and the withdrawal of tax subsidies in the late 1990s.
In New Zealand, the share of real assets has been more volatile than in other countries and it has only been falling over the late 1990s. The share of equities rose slightly over the 1990s, while the share of other financial assets (mainly deposits with deposit-taking institutions and other fixed interest assets) has been falling steadily. The share of other financial assets has also be declining in the United States and Australia (see Figure 13). This is in sharp contrast to Japan, where the share of other financial assets has been growing strongly (at the expense of real assets and equities) following the stock market meltdown in 1990.
