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The Saving Glut of the Rich and the Rise in Household Debt

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  • Atif Mian
  • Ludwig Straub
  • Amir Sufi

Abstract

Rising income inequality since the 1980s in the United States has generated a substantial increase in saving by the top of the income distribution, which we call the saving glut of the rich. The saving glut of the rich has been as large as the global saving glut, and it has not been associated with an increase in investment. Instead, the saving glut of the rich has been linked to the substantial dissaving and large accumulation of debt by the non-rich. Analysis using variation across states shows that the rise in top income shares can explain almost all of the accumulation of household debt held as a financial asset by the household sector. Since the Great Recession, the saving glut of the rich has been financing government deficits to a greater degree.

Suggested Citation

  • Atif Mian & Ludwig Straub & Amir Sufi, 2020. "The Saving Glut of the Rich and the Rise in Household Debt," CESifo Working Paper Series 8201, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8201
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    4. Jonathan D. Fisher & David S. Johnson & Timothy M. Smeeding & Jeffrey P. Thompson, 2022. "Inequality in 3‐D: Income, Consumption, and Wealth," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(1), pages 16-42, March.
    5. Paul Beaudry & Katya Kartashova & Césaire Meh, 2023. "Gazing at r-star: A Hysteresis Perspective," Staff Working Papers 23-5, Bank of Canada.
    6. Bill Martin, 2020. "Resurrecting the UK Corporate Sector Accounts," Working Papers wp519, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    7. Brand, Claus & Goy, Gavin W & Lemke, Wolfgang, 2020. "Natural rate chimera and bond pricing reality," VfS Annual Conference 2020 (Virtual Conference): Gender Economics 224546, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    8. Stefano Di Bucchianico, 2020. "A note on financialization from a Classical-Keynesian standpoint," Department of Economics University of Siena 824, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    9. Tippet, Benjamin & Onaran, Özlem & Wildauer, Rafael, 2021. "The determinants of wealth inequality in the UK, USA and France," Greenwich Papers in Political Economy 31260, University of Greenwich, Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre.
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    11. Matthew Smith & Owen Zidar & Eric Zwick, 2020. "Top Wealth in America: New Estimates and Implications for Taxing the Rich," Working Papers 264, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    12. Deng, Xin & Yu, Mingzhe, 2021. "Does the marginal child increase household debt? – Evidence from the new fertility policy in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    13. Pascal Paul, 2023. "Historical Patterns of Inequality and Productivity around Financial Crises," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 55(7), pages 1641-1665, October.
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    16. Marc C. Adam, 2020. "The Corona Crisis - is this the time for Helicopter Money?," Basic Papers 1, Forum New Economy, revised Apr 2020.
    17. Benjamin Grosse-Rueschkamp & Jörg Rocholl, 2020. "Ursachen und Konsequenzen von Niedrigzinsen [Causes and Consequences of Low Interest Rates]," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 72(4), pages 401-421, December.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    inequality; saving glut; household debt; unveiling;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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