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The Saving Behavior of Elderly People in Japan: Analysis Based on Micro-Data from the National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure

Author

Listed:
  • Masahiko Nakazawa

    (Visiting Scholar, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance)

  • Kazuaki Kikuta

    (Former Visiting Scholar, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance)

  • Yasutaka Yoneta

    (Ph.D. candidate, Hitotsubashi University; Visiting Scholar, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance)

Abstract

This paper examines elderly people’s saving behavior by conducting a bias-adjusted analysis concerning the amounts of their savings and asset liquidations using micro data obtained through the National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure in consideration of the results of past studies. The main findings of this paper are that: (1) among elderly households, households of married couples and one-person households (hereinafter referred to as “independent elderly households”) usually build up savings when working and liquidate assets when not working; (2) in the case of non-working households, the asset liquidation amount per month is 14,400 yen, markedly smaller than the figure of 97,500 yen indicated in the National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure; (3) households comprised of elderly people and their children (hereinafter referred to as “extended households”) generally build up savings regardless of whether they work; (4) among independent elderly households, there is a tendency that the proportion of households that build up savings (savings rate) is higher in higher income, asset and age brackets; and (5) when independent elderly households are classified by the existence or non-existence of children, the savings rate is higher among those which have children than among those which do not.

Suggested Citation

  • Masahiko Nakazawa & Kazuaki Kikuta & Yasutaka Yoneta, 2018. "The Saving Behavior of Elderly People in Japan: Analysis Based on Micro-Data from the National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure," Public Policy Review, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance Japan, vol. 14(4), pages 691-730, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:mof:journl:ppr14_04_08
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hayashi, Fumio & Ando, Albert & Ferris, Richard, 1988. "Life cycle and bequest savings A study of Japanese and U.S. households based on data from the 1984 NSFIE and the 1983 survey of consumer finances," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 2(4), pages 450-491, December.
    2. Charles Yuji Horioka, 2006. "Do the Elderly Dissave in Japan?," Chapters, in: Lawrence R. Klein (ed.), Long-run Growth and Short-run Stabilization, chapter 5, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Horioka, Charles Yuji, 2010. "The (dis)saving behavior of the aged in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 151-158, August.
    4. Melvin Stephens & Takashi Unayama, 2011. "The Consumption Response to Seasonal Income: Evidence from Japanese Public Pension Benefits," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 86-118, October.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure; micro data; savings; life cycle hypothesis; elderly households;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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