The Life-Cycle Hypothesis: An Assessment of Some Recent Evidence

Luigi Pistaferri

Rivista di Politica Economica, 2009, vol. 99, issue 2, 35-65

Abstract: This essay first reviews the basic empirical predictions of the life cycle hypothesis of consumption, namely that individuals should try to smooth intertemporally the marginal utility of consumption, that young workers should be accumulating resources for retirement, and that the elderly should be decumulating these resources. In the second part of the essay, we assess recent empirical evidence on these predictions.

Keywords: consumption; retirement; saving (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D91 E21 J26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:rpo:ripoec:v:99:y:2009:i:2:p:35-65

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