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Thrifty Pensioners: Pensions and Savings in France at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

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  • Bourdieu, Jérôme
  • Kesztenbaum, Lionel
  • Postel-Vinay, Gilles

Abstract

Building on a large sample of elderly French individuals, we evaluate the resources that were available to the old. We find that a considerable percentage of the French population did not have sufficient assets to live off of when aged. We compare the savings behaviors of pensioners and non-pensioners at a time when only a small part of the labor force was entitled to a pension. We show that pensioners were better able to accumulate wealth than were non-pensioners, even when we take into account their occupation and inherited wealth.“Oh! La misère des vieux sans pain, des vieux sans espoir, sans enfants, sans argent, sans rien autre chose que la mort devant eux, y pensons-nous? Y pensons-nous, aux vieux affamés des mansardes? Pensons-nous aux larmes de ces yeux ternes qui furent brillants, émus et joyeux, jadis?†1Guy de Maupassant

Suggested Citation

  • Bourdieu, Jérôme & Kesztenbaum, Lionel & Postel-Vinay, Gilles, 2011. "Thrifty Pensioners: Pensions and Savings in France at the Turn of the Twentieth Century," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(2), pages 383-412, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:71:y:2011:i:02:p:383-412_00
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    1. Jérôme Bourdieu & Lionel Kesztenbaum & Gilles Postel‐Vinay & Akiko Suwa‐Eisenmann, 2019. "Intergenerational Wealth Mobility in France, 19th and 20th Century," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 65(1), pages 21-47, March.

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