IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/imf/imfwpa/2011-223.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Targets, Interest Rates, and Household Saving in Urban China

Author

Listed:
  • Mr. Malhar S Nabar

Abstract

This paper studies a panel of China's provinces over the period 1996-2009 during which urban household saving rates increased from 19 percent of disposable income to 30 percent. It finds that the increase in urban saving rates is negatively associated with the decline in real interest rates over this period. This negative association suggests that Chinese households save with a target level of saving in mind. When the return to saving declines (increases), it becomes more difficult (easier) to meet a target and households increase (lower) their saving out of current disposable income to compensate. The results are robust across specifications and to the inclusion of additional variables. A main policy implication is that an increase in real deposit rates may help lower household saving and boost domestic consumption.

Suggested Citation

  • Mr. Malhar S Nabar, 2011. "Targets, Interest Rates, and Household Saving in Urban China," IMF Working Papers 2011/223, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2011/223
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=25260
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Colin Camerer & Linda Babcock & George Loewenstein & Richard Thaler, 1997. "Labor Supply of New York City Cabdrivers: One Day at a Time," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(2), pages 407-441.
    2. Franco Modigliani & Shi Larry Cao, 2004. "The Chinese Saving Puzzle and the Life-Cycle Hypothesis," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 145-170, March.
    3. Mr. Tarhan Feyzioglu & Mr. Nathan Porter & Elöd Takáts, 2009. "Interest Rate Liberalization in China," IMF Working Papers 2009/171, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Charles Yuji Horioka & Junmin Wan, 2007. "The Determinants of Household Saving in China: A Dynamic Panel Analysis of Provincial Data," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 39(8), pages 2077-2096, December.
    5. Laxton, Douglas & N'Diaye, Papa & Pesenti, Paolo, 2006. "Deflationary shocks and monetary rules: An open-economy scenario analysis," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 665-698, December.
    6. Marcos D. Chamon & Eswar S. Prasad, 2010. "Why Are Saving Rates of Urban Households in China Rising?," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 93-130, January.
    7. Olivier Blanchard & Francesco Giavazzi, 2006. "Rebalancing Growth in China: A Three‐Handed Approach," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 14(4), pages 1-20, August.
    8. John Giles & Kyeongwon Yoo, 2007. "Precautionary Behavior, Migrant Networks, and Household Consumption Decisions: An Empirical Analysis Using Household Panel Data from Rural China," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(3), pages 534-551, August.
    9. Cai, Fang & Giles, John & Meng, Xin, 2006. "How well do children insure parents against low retirement income? An analysis using survey data from urban China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(12), pages 2229-2255, December.
    10. Shang-Jin Wei & Xiaobo Zhang, 2011. "The Competitive Saving Motive: Evidence from Rising Sex Ratios and Savings Rates in China," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 119(3), pages 511-564.
    11. Chamon, Marcos & Liu, Kai & Prasad, Eswar, 2013. "Income uncertainty and household savings in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 164-177.
    12. Nicoletta Batini & Papa N'Diaye & Alessandro Rebucci, 2005. "The domestic and global impact of Japan’s policies for growth," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    13. Christopher D. Carroll, 2001. "A Theory of the Consumption Function, with and without Liquidity Constraints," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 23-45, Summer.
    14. Giles, John T. & Mu, Ren, 2006. "Elder Parent Health and the Migration Decision of Adult Children: Evidence from Rural China," IZA Discussion Papers 2333, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. John Giles & Ren Mu, 2007. "Elderly parent health and the migration decisions of adult children: Evidence from rural China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(2), pages 265-288, May.
    16. Gu Baochang & Wang Feng & Guo Zhigang & Zhang Erli, 2007. "China's Local and National Fertility Policies at the End of the Twentieth Century," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 33(1), pages 129-148, March.
    17. Barry Naughton, 2007. "The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262640643, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xi Li & Yikai Wang & Tong Zhang, 2018. "China's Financial System and Economic Imbalances," HKUST IEMS Working Paper Series 2018-53, HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies, revised Feb 2018.
    2. Riccardo Cristadoro & Daniela Marconi, 2012. "Household savings in China," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(3), pages 275-299, November.
    3. Mirpourian, Mehrdad, 2020. "A Gendered Look at Savings Behavior among Nigerian Microsavers," MPRA Paper 103221, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Ross Kendall, 2014. "Economic linkages between New Zealand and China," Reserve Bank of New Zealand Analytical Notes series AN2014/06, Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
    5. Kevin Luo & Tomoko Kinugasa, 2018. "Do natural disasters influence long-term saving?: Assessing the impact of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake on household saving rates using synthetic control," Discussion Papers 1804, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University.
    6. Philemon Kwame Opoku, 2020. "The Short-Run and Long-Run Determinants of Household Saving: Evidence from OECD Economies," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 62(3), pages 430-464, September.
    7. Ms. Longmei Zhang & Mr. R. Brooks & Ding Ding & Haiyan Ding & Hui He & Jing Lu & Rui Mano, 2018. "China’s High Savings: Drivers, Prospects, and Policies," IMF Working Papers 2018/277, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Artemis Stratopoulou, 2023. "Assessing the Effects of Capital Account Liberalization on Savings," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 34(5), pages 1107-1170, November.
    9. Philemon Kwame Opoku, 2019. "The Short-Run and Long-Run Determinants of Household Saving:Evidence from OECD countries," Working Papers REM 2019/0110, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa.
    10. Joshua Aizenman & Yin-Wong Cheung & Hiro Ito, 2019. "The Interest Rate Effect on Private Saving: Alternative Perspectives," Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy (JICEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 10(01), pages 1-37, February.
    11. Diego Anzoategui & Miss Mali Chivakul & Wojciech Maliszewski, 2015. "Financial Distortions in China: A General Equilibrium Approach," IMF Working Papers 2015/274, International Monetary Fund.
    12. M. Albert & C. Jude & C. Rebillard, 2015. "The Long Landing Scenario: Rebalancing from Overinvestment and Excessive Credit Growth. Implications for Potential Growth in China," Working papers 572, Banque de France.
    13. Atella, Vincenzo & Brugiavini, Agar & Pace, Noemi, 2015. "The health care system reform in China: Effects on out-of-pocket expenses and saving," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 182-195.
    14. Mali Chivakul & Bernhard Kassner, 2019. "Can Consumption Growth in China Keep Up as Investment Slows?," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 61(3), pages 381-412, September.
    15. Dimitar Damyanov, 2016. "Real Returns, Interest Income Tax, and Household Saving in Bulgaria," Economic Alternatives, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria, issue 1, pages 15-23, March.
    16. Mirpourian, Mehrdad, 2020. "A Gendered Look at Savings Behavior among Nigerian Microsavers," MPRA Paper 103062, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Philemon Kwame Opoku, 0. "The Short-Run and Long-Run Determinants of Household Saving: Evidence from OECD Economies," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 0, pages 1-35.
    18. Kevin Luo & Tomoko Kinugasa, 2020. "Challenges for China’s economic development: the saving glut and policy implication," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 47-75, February.
    19. Nicholas R. Lardy & Nicholas Borst, 2013. "A Blueprint for Rebalancing the Chinese Economy," Policy Briefs PB13-2, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    20. Xinhua Gu & Bihong Huang & Pui Sun Tam & Yang Zhang, 2015. "Inequality and Saving: Further Evidence from Integrated Economies," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(1), pages 15-30, February.
    21. Ms. Mitali Das & Mr. Papa M N'Diaye, 2013. "Chronicle of a Decline Foretold: Has China Reached the Lewis Turning Point?," IMF Working Papers 2013/026, International Monetary Fund.
    22. Berkelmans, Leon & Kelly, Gerard & Sadeghian, Dena, 2016. "Chinese monetary policy and the banking system," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 38-55.
    23. Bussière, Matthieu & Kalantzis, Yannick & Lafarguette, Romain & Sicular, Terry, 2013. "Understanding household savings in China: the role of the housing market and borrowing constraints," MPRA Paper 44611, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    24. Guonan Ma & Ivan Roberts & Gerard Kelly, 2016. "A Rebalancing Chinese Economy: Challenges and International Implications," RBA Annual Conference Volume (Discontinued), in: Iris Day & John Simon (ed.),Structural Change in China: Implications for Australia and the World, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    25. Willem Vanlaer & Samantha Bielen & Wim Marneffe, 2020. "Consumer Confidence and Household Saving Behaviors: A Cross-Country Empirical Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 677-721, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chadwick C. Curtis & Steven Lugauer & Nelson C. Mark, 2015. "Demographic Patterns and Household Saving in China," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 58-94, April.
    2. Gu, Xinhua & Tam, Pui Sun, 2013. "The saving–growth–inequality triangle in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 850-857.
    3. Chang, Xiao & An, Tongliang & Tam, Pui Sun & Gu, Xinhua, 2020. "National savings rate and sectoral income distribution: An empirical look at China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    4. Curtis, Chadwick C. & Lugauer, Steven & Mark, Nelson C., 2017. "Demographics and aggregate household saving in Japan, China, and India," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 175-191.
    5. Yanbin Chen & Fangxing Li & Zhesheng Qiu, 2013. "Housing and Saving with Finance Imperfection," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 14(1), pages 207-248, May.
    6. Chen, Binkai & Yang, Xi & Zhong, Ninghua, 2020. "Housing demand and household saving rates in china: Evidence from a housing reform," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    7. van Treeck, Till. & Sturn, Simon., 2012. "Income inequality as a cause of the Great Recession? : A survey of current debates," ILO Working Papers 994709343402676, International Labour Organization.
    8. Yi Wen, 2011. "Making sense of China’s astronomical foreign reserves," Working Papers 2011-018, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    9. Nicolas Coeurdacier & Stéphane Guibaud & Keyu Jin, 2015. "Credit Constraints and Growth in a Global Economy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(9), pages 2838-2881, September.
    10. Riccardo Cristadoro & Daniela Marconi, 2012. "Household savings in China," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(3), pages 275-299, November.
    11. Tan, Jing & Xu, Hao & Yu, Jingwen, 2022. "The effect of homeownership on migrant household savings: Evidence from the removal of home purchase restrictions in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    12. Carl Bonham & Calla Wiemer, 2013. "Chinese saving dynamics: the impact of GDP growth and the dependent share," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 65(1), pages 173-196, January.
    13. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/c87bgksc18ba9tn72tqcganvu is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Shaojie Zhou & Junsen Zhang, 2016. "Chinese Saving Rates from 1953 to 2012: Trends, Compositions and Prospects," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 227-252, May.
    15. Bollinger, Christopher & Ding, Xiaozhou & Lugauer, Steven, 2022. "The expansion of higher education and household saving in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    16. Steven Lugauer & Jinlan Ni & Zhichao Yin, 2014. "Micro-Data Evidence on Family Size and Chinese Saving Rates," Working Papers 023, University of Notre Dame, Department of Economics, revised Jun 2014.
    17. Hui He & Feng Huang & Zheng Liu & Dongming Zhu, 2014. "Breaking the “Iron Rice Bowl” and Precautionary Swings: Evidence from Chinese State-Owned Enterprises Reform," Working Paper Series 2014-4, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    18. Yao, Yang, 2014. "The Chinese Growth Miracle," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 7, pages 943-1031, Elsevier.
    19. Zhou, Weina, 2014. "Brothers, household financial markets and savings rate in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 34-47.
    20. Chen, Binkai & Lu, Ming & Zhong, Ninghua, 2015. "How Urban Segregation Distorts Chinese Migrants’ Consumption?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 133-146.
    21. Yating Dai & Jian Cheng & Daolin Zhu, 2022. "Understanding the Impact of Land Supply Structure on Low Consumption: Empirical Evidence from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2011/223. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Akshay Modi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/imfffus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.