EHVP : Life History and Wealth Survey

The purpose of the Life History and Wealth Survey (LHS) is to describe the financial, real estate and professional assets of households as well as their associated debt. It is part of a European framework, used to provide information for the French part of the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS), which is a harmonization mechanism for surveys on wealth led by the European Central Bank. The HFCS enables an observation of the distribution of wealth within households, as well as the rates of ownership of various wealth assets, and also provides very complete information on the factors that explain the formation of wealth: family and professional lives; inheritances and gifts; income and financial situation; and knowledge of the mechanisms underpinning th constitution and transmission of economic wealth. The survey covers the following topics in particular: socio-demographic characteristics of households, individual ownership of financial, real estate and professional assets, assessment of the amount held for each asset, description of the main housing and other property or land owned by the household, description of any self-employment activity of one person in the household, and of the household's professional assets and debts, family habits... The scope of this survey covers ordinary households residing in France. Information is collected per household, but longitudinal follow-up will be conducted individually.