## A Global Picture of Public Wealth

_IMF Blog, June 18, 2019_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [A Global Picture of Public Wealth](https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2019/06/18/blog-a-global-picture-of-public-wealth)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2019/06/18/blog-a-global-picture-of-public-wealth/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/blogs/articles/2019/06/18/blog-a-global-picture-of-public-wealth/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/blogs/articles/2019/06/18/blog-a-global-picture-of-public-wealth/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Jason Harris, Abdelhak Senhadji
- Published: June 18, 2019

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### New data and coverage
- Database covers 38 countries’ public assets and liabilities and includes low-income, emerging market, and advanced economies.
- Expands coverage from the October Fiscal Monitor by adding seven countries: Mexico, Malta, North Macedonia, Senegal, Armenia, Uzbekistan, and Lithuania.
- The countries in the database now cover almost 63% of global GDP.
- For 17 countries there are time series data at the public sector level.
- Data are provided by level of government and include both financial and nonfinancial corporations.
- Granular asset categories include land, buildings, cash, and equity; liabilities include debt, loans, and pensions.

### Aggregate magnitudes and composition
- Total public sector assets in these 38 countries are worth $103 trillion, or 216% of GDP.
- Assets consist of public infrastructure such as bridges and roads, financial assets such as bank deposits, as well as natural resource reserves in the ground.
- Total liabilities stand at $93 trillion.
- Liabilities comprise some $44 trillion of general government debt, $22 trillion of current pension obligations, and the debt of state-owned enterprises.
- Net worth—assets minus liabilities—comes to $10 trillion or 21% of GDP for this group of countries.

### Analytical uses and findings
- Goal: better assess fiscal risks and evaluate government policies by knowing more about what you own and owe.
- The Fiscal Monitor shows that having large assets does not necessarily reduce how vulnerable a country is to large debts; this will depend on the nature of the assets.
- The Fiscal Monitor includes a fiscal stress test for the United States, analysis of public investment plans financed by a domestic revenue mobilization effort in Indonesia, and the crossholdings within the public sector in Japan.
- These public sector balance sheet data enable fiscal stress tests and other tools used by investors and financial market experts.

### Policy implications and potential gains from better asset management
- Better management of government assets could earn 3 percent of GDP in extra revenues each year—that is more than the interest payments advanced countries pay to cover their debt.
- Countries doing balance sheet work:
  - United Kingdom: spent several years compiling data and is currently undertaking a balance sheet review.
  - Australia and New Zealand: have looked at the balance sheet effects of policies for years.
- The IMF has used the public sector balance sheet approach in consultations with member countries, for instance in some of the Nordic countries.

### Data access and purpose
- The data are made free and publicly available to encourage transparency and more research.
- Intended uses for academics and research institutions:
  - Better understand the state of a government’s finances and their evolution over time.
  - Compare developments across similar countries.
  - Explore key questions around balance sheets and macroeconomic links.
  - Enable a more meaningful debate around returns on public assets.

*Jason Harris; Abdelhak Senhadji — June 18, 2019.*

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## References

- [Português](https://www.imf.org/pt/News/Articles/2019/06/18/blog-a-global-picture-of-public-wealth)
- [data free and publicly available](https://legacydata.imf.org/?sk=82A91796-0326-4629-9E1D-C7F8422B8BE6)
- [https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/eng-june-6-govassets1-2.png](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/eng-june-6-govassets1-2.png)
- [https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/eng-june-6-govassets2-2.png](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/eng-june-6-govassets2-2.png)
- [Fiscal Monitor](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/FM/Issues/2018/10/04/fiscal-monitor-october-2018)
- [blog](https://blogs.imf.org/2018/10/09/the-wealth-of-nations-governments-can-better-manage-what-they-own-and-owe/)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2019/06/18/blog-a-global-picture-of-public-wealth_