The invention relates to aqueous dispersions containing multistage produced polymers and to coating agent compositions containing the same, which can be produced by multi-stage polymerization of olefinically unsaturated monomers using an emulsifier and a water-soluble initiator under conditions of starving polymerization and use of certain monomers mixtures in the individual stages. The invention further relates to a pigmented aqueous base coating containing the aqueous dispersion according to the invention, to the use of the aqueous dispersion according to the invention in aqueous base coatings for improving adhesion, to a method for producing a multilayer paint coating on a substrate, and to a multi-layer coating produced according to the aforementioned method.