Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/34331 
Year of Publication: 
2007
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 3191
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
From 1995 to 2005, the average urban household saving rate in China rose by 8 percentage points, to about one quarter of disposable income. We use household-level data to explain why households are postponing consumption despite rapid income growth. Tracing cohorts over time indicates a virtual absence of consumption smoothing over the life cycle. The age profile of savings has an unusual U-shaped pattern, with saving rates being the highest among the youngest and oldest households. We find that financial underdevelopment, as reflected in constraints on borrowing and low returns on financial assets, partially accounts for this pattern. Moreover, overall saving rates have increased across all demographic groups. We argue that this can be explained by the rising private burden of expenditures on housing, education, and health care.
Subjects: 
Household savings
age and cohort profiles of savings
borrowing constraints
precautionary savings
financial development, demographics
JEL: 
D12
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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