Could French and Eurozone Savers Invest More in Risky Assets?

During the crisis, French savers are turning even more towards safe, short-term assets or real estate and away from more risky and long-term financial investments. This state of affairs is a cause of concern to some analysts, who are looking for ways to encourage households to take more risks and put more of their savings into productive investment. Theoretical and statistical analysis show that this reluctance to invest in the stock market comes as much from the supply side – transaction costs in the broad sense, relatively unfavourable taxation that reduces the expected return – as from the demand side – lack of financial education among savers, aversion to risks perceived as being too high, exposure to other risks (income, unemployment, family, health, housing, human capital). In this article, after analyzing financial behaviours in France and Europe, we propose a number of propositions for redirecting savings towards more risky investments.