Bitte verwenden Sie diesen Link, um diese Publikation zu zitieren, oder auf sie als Internetquelle zu verweisen: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/149555 
Erscheinungsjahr: 
2016
Schriftenreihe/Nr.: 
ifo Working Paper No. 233
Verlag: 
ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, Munich
Zusammenfassung: 
In this paper, we utilise data from a German population survey to test the validity of the Ricardian equivalence theorem (RET). In 2013, 2,000 representatively chosen people were asked whether they have altered their consumption and saving behaviour in response to the significant increase in public debt that occurred between 2008 and 2012. Our findings suggest that, in general, RET does not hold. Only 7% of our respondents reported consuming a smaller proportion of their income, and saving a larger proportion, in response to public debt accumulation. In the case of respondents required to pay social security contributions, we can control for their expectations about the future and find that 36% behave in line with RET. We interpret our findings as microeconomic evidence in support of the ‘rule-of-thumb’ consumer assumptions employed in macroeconomic models. Moreover, using multinominal logit regressions, we find that individuals’ consumption responses are significantly related to their economic situation, time preferences, education, and age.
Schlagwörter: 
Ricardian equivalence
public debt
private consumption
private saving
survey
Germany
JEL: 
D12
D91
E21
H31
Dokumentart: 
Working Paper

Datei(en):
Datei
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