The (Dis)saving Behavior of the Aged in Japan
ISER Discussion Paper No. 763
26 Pages Posted: 24 Dec 2009
There are 2 versions of this paper
The (Dis)saving Behavior of the Aged in Japan
The (Dis)Saving Behavior of the Aged in Japan
Date Written: December 24, 2009
Abstract
In this paper, I survey the previous literature on the saving behavior of the aged in Japan and then present some survey data on the saving behavior of the aged in Japan that became available recently. To summarize the main findings of this paper, virtually all previous studies as well as the newly available data I analyze find that the retired aged dissave and that even the working aged dissave, at least at advanced ages. Moreover, there has been a sharp increase in the dissaving of the retired aged since 2000, with the increase being due primarily to reductions in social security benefits, increases in consumption expenditures, and increases in taxes and social insurance premiums. These findings are consistent with the life-cycle model and suggest that this model is highly applicable (and becoming increasingly applicable over time) in the case of Japan.
Keywords: Age structure of the population, aged, aging, consumption, dissaving, elderly, households, Japan, life-cycle model, life-cycle hypothesis, retirement, saving, saving rate
JEL Classification: D12, D91, E21
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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