National and Personal Saving in the United States: Measurement and Analysis of Recent Trends

44 Pages Posted: 15 Feb 2006

See all articles by A. Lans Bovenberg

A. Lans Bovenberg

Tilburg University - Center for Economic Research (CentER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Owen Evans

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: December 13, 1989

Abstract

This paper analyzes several issues regarding the measurement of saving and concludes that the observed declines in national, private, and personal saving rates in the United States cannot be attributed to measurement problems. It then examines several factors that seem to have been behind the decline in U.S. personal saving. It suggests that structural changes in capital markets as well as improvements in wealth positions, in the living standards of the elderly, in social security pensions, and in private and public insurance mechanisms all contributed to the declining trend in personal saving. Empirical results suggest that demographic factors may also have played a major role.

JEL Classification: 023, 321

Suggested Citation

Bovenberg, A. Lans and Evans, Owen, National and Personal Saving in the United States: Measurement and Analysis of Recent Trends (December 13, 1989). IMF Working Paper No. 89/99, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=885087

A. Lans Bovenberg (Contact Author)

Tilburg University - Center for Economic Research (CentER) ( email )

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

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Munich, DE-81679
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.CESifo.de

Owen Evans

affiliation not provided to SSRN

No Address Available

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