Krugman, Weidmann And Why It Is Actually Worse

Krugman isn't happy that Weidmann is against further ECB measures without offering any justification. But it is actually worse than Krugman thinks.

Bundesbank - Household net wealth

According to a Bundesbank study, the median net household wealth in Germany was € 51,400 in the Year 2010. Which when compared to other industrial nations this is rather low. The US had a family net worth of about € 59,000 ($ 77,300/1.3), after plummeting over 40 % compared to before the crisis.According to the Bundesbank the German number compares to other Euro-nations as follows:

Household median net wort	Euro
France	113,500
Germany	51,400
Italy	163,900
Spain	178,300
Austria	76,400
Western Germany	78,900
Eastern Germany	21,400

Some of that difference might be due to different statistics. The low value for eastern Germany can in large parts be attributed to the "Wiedervereinigung" and the main source of household wealth is real estate which is still very cheap in some parts of eastern Germany.

Additionally, the  average net household wealth Spain (€ 285,800) is "only" 1.5 times as large as that of Germany (€ 195,000). An Italian number is not available.