Demographic Determinants of Savings : Estimating and Interpreting the Aggregate Association in Asia

Arbeitspapier

Life cycle savings is proposed as one explanation for much of the increase in savings and economic growth in Asia. The association between the age composition of a nation?s population and its savings rate, observed within 16 Asian countries from 1952 to 1992, is reestimated here to be less than a quarter the size reported in a seminal study, which assumed lagged savings is exogenous. Specification tests as well as common sense imply, moreover, that lagged savings is likely to be endogenous, and when estimated accordingly there remains no significant dependence of savings on the age composition, measured in several ways. Research should consider lifetime savings as a substitute for children, and model the causes for the decline in fertility which changes the age compositions and could thereby account for savings and growth in Asia.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 1479

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development ; Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts ; Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making‡ ; Economywide Country Studies: Asia including Middle East
• Subject: life cycle savings ; aging ; Asian growth ; demographic transition ; Sparen ; Lebenszyklus ; Wirtschaftswachstum ; Altersstruktur der Bevölkerung ; Asien

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Schultz, T. Paul
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2005

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/20778
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET