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Are Americans More Altruistic than the Japanese? A U.S.-Japan Comparison of Saving and Bequest Motives

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Author Info
Charles Yuji Horioka
Hideki Fujisaki
Wako Watanabe
Takatsugu Kouno

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Abstract

In this paper, we analyze a variety of data on saving motives, bequest motives, and bequest division from the Comparative Survey of Savings in Japan and the United States,' a binational survey conducted in 1996 by the Institute for Posts and Telecommunications Policy of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of the Government of Japan, in order to shed light on which model of household behavior applies in the two countries. We find (1) that the selfish life cycle model is the dominant model of household behavior in both countries but that it is far more applicable in Japan than it is in the U.S., (2) that the altruism model is far more applicable in the U.S. than it is in Japan but that it is not the dominant model of household behavior in either country, and (3) that the dynasty model is more applicable in Japan than it is in the U.S. bu that it is of only limited applicability even in Japan.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 7463.

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Date of creation: Jan 2000
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7463

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
D91 - Microeconomics - - Intertemporal Choice and Growth - - - Intertemporal Consumer Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Gary S. Becker, 1974. "A Theory of Social Interactions," NBER Working Papers 0042, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Kotlikoff, Laurence J & Spivak, Avia, 1981. "The Family as an Incomplete Annuities Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(2), pages 372-91, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Modigliani, Franco, 1988. "The Role of Intergenerational Transfers and Life Cycle Saving in the Accumulation of Wealth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 15-40, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Kotlikoff, Laurence J & Summers, Lawrence H, 1981. "The Role of Intergenerational Transfers in Aggregate Capital Accumulation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(4), pages 706-32, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Joseph G. Altonji & Fumio Hayashi & Laurence J. Kotlikoff, 1993. "Is the Extended Family Altruistically Linked? Direct Tests Using Micro Data," NBER Working Papers 3046, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Ohtake, F., 1991. "Request Motives of Aged Households in Japan," Papers 249, Osaka - Institute of Social and Economic Research.
  7. Boskin, Michael J. & Kotlikoff, Laurence J., 1985. "Public debt and United States saving: A new test of the neutrality hypothesis," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 55-86, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Barro, Robert J, 1974. "Are Government Bonds Net Wealth?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(6), pages 1095-1117, Nov.-Dec.. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Horioka, Charles Yuji & Okui, Megumi, 1999. "A U.S.-Japan comparison of the importance and determinants of retirement saving," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 365-371, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Ohtake, F. & Horioka, C.Y., 1995. "Saving Motives in Japan," Papers 392, Osaka - Institute of Social and Economic Research.
  11. Bernheim, B Douglas & Shleifer, Andrei & Summers, Lawrence H, 1986. "The Strategic Bequest Motive," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(3), pages S151-82, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Horioka, C.Y. & Watanabe, W., 1996. "Why Do People Save? A Micro-Analysis of Motives for Household Saving in Japan," Papers 412, Osaka - Institute of Social and Economic Research.
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  13. Kotlikoff, Laurence J, 1988. "Intergenerational Transfers and Savings," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 41-58, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Christopher Carroll, 2002. "'Risky Habits' and the Marginal Propensity to Consume Out Of Permanent Income," Computing in Economics and Finance 2002 42, Society for Computational Economics.
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. R. Anton Braun & Daisuke Ikeda & Douglas H. Joines, 2006. "Saving and interest rates in Japan: why they have fallen and why they will remain low," Working Paper Series 2006-39, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. [Downloadable!]
  2. R. Anton Braun & Daisuke Ikeda & Douglas H. Joines, 2007. "The Saving Rate in Japan: Why It Has Fallen and Why It Will Remain Low," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-535, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo. [Downloadable!]
  3. Charles Yuji Horioka, 2004. "Do the Elderly Dissave in Japan?," ISER Discussion Paper 0605, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University. [Downloadable!]
  4. Midori Wakabayashi & Charles Y. Horioka, 2006. "Is the Eldest Son Different? The Residential Choice of Siblings in Japan," NBER Working Papers 12655, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Charles Yuji Horioka, 2001. "Are the Japanese Selfish, Altruistic, or Dynastic?," ISER Discussion Paper 0556, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University. [Downloadable!]
  6. R. Anton Braun & Daisuke Ikeda & Douglas H. Joines, 2005. "Saving and Interest Rates in Japan: Why They Have Fallen and Why They Will Remain Low," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-328, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo. [Downloadable!]
  7. Horioka, Charles Yuji, 2004. "The Stagnation of Household Consumption in Japan," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Sang-Wook Stanley Cho, 2007. "Household Wealth Accumulation and Portfolio Choices in Korea," Discussion Papers 2007-26, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales. [Downloadable!]
  9. R.Anton Braun & Daisuke Ikeda & Douglas H. Joines, 2006. "Saving and interest rates in Japan: Why they have fallen and why they will remain low," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue Jun. [Downloadable!]
  10. Charles Yuji Horioka, 2009. "Do Bequests Increase or Decrease Wealth Inequalities?," NBER Working Papers 14639, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Charles Yuji Horioka, 2006. "The Dissaving of the Aged Revisited: The Case of Japan," ISER Discussion Paper 0665, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Charles Yuji Horioka, 2007. "A Survey of Household Saving Behavior in Japan," ISER Discussion Paper 0684, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University. [Downloadable!]
  13. Sang-Wook Stanley Cho, 2007. "Accounting for Lifecycle Wealth Accumulation: The Role of Housing Institution," Discussion Papers 2007-27, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales. [Downloadable!]
  14. Ting Yin, 2009. "Parent-Child Co-residence and Bequest Motives in China," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 09-26, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics and Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP). [Downloadable!]
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