‘The Bank of Mum and Dad’ may be a bit of a myth, a Productivity Commission research report on wealth transfers in Australia suggests.

The Productivity Commission study aims to improve understanding of the impact of inheritances and gifts on the distribution of wealth.

It shows that inheritances and gifts more than doubled since 2002 and could rise four-fold in real terms between now and 2050, as household wealth grows and the population ages.

But, asset price growth, particularly for housing, has a much greater impact on wealth inequality than inheritances.

The study shows that so far, each generation has been wealthier on average than the previous one at the equivalent age, though baby boomers have done particularly well. Children tend to enjoy a similar relative wealth position to that of their parents, but inheritances are not the main driver of this.

The Commission said it “could not find strong evidence of large transfers from ‘The Bank of Mum and Dad’ (gifts or guarantees from parents that help their children buy a house), despite popular belief.”