The German Savings Puzzle

Axel Börsch-Supan (), Anette Reil-Held (), Ralf Rodepeter, Reinhold Schnabel and Joachim Winter ()
Additional contact information
Axel Börsch-Supan: Sonderforschungsbereich 504, Postal: L 13, 15, D-68131 Mannheim
Anette Reil-Held: Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging (MEA) and Sonderforschungsbereich 504, Postal: L 13,15 D-68131 Mannheim
Ralf Rodepeter: Sonderforschungsbereich 504, Postal: L 13, 15, D-68131 Mannheim

No 01-07, Sonderforschungsbereich 504 Publications from Sonderforschungsbereich 504, Universität Mannheim, Sonderforschungsbereich 504, University of Mannheim

Abstract: Germany has one of the most generous public pension and health insurance systems of the world, yet private savings are high until old age. Savings remain positive in old age, even for most low income households. How can we explain what we might want to term the 'German savings puzzle?' We provide a complicated answer that combines historical facts with capital market imperfections, housing, tax and pension policies. The first part of the paper describes how German households save, based on a synthetic panel of four cross sections of the German Income and Expenditure Survey ('Einkommens- und Verbrauchsstichproben') collected between 1978 and 1993. The second part links saving behavior with public policy, notably tax and pension policy.

Pages: 28 pages
Date: 2000-11-19
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mac
Note: Financial support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SFB 504, at the University of Mannheim, is gratefully acknowledged.
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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http://www.sfb504.uni-mannheim.de/publications/dp01-07.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: The German Savings Puzzle (2001)
Working Paper: The German Savings Puzzle (2001)
Working Paper: The German Savings Puzzle (2000)
Working Paper: The German Savings Puzzle (2000)
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