We add health and longevity to a standard model of life cycle saving and show that, under plausible assumptions, increases in longevity lead to higher savings rates at every age, even when retirement is endogenous. In a stable population these higher savings rates are offset by increased old age dependency, but during the disequilibrium phase, when longevity is rising, the effect on aggregate savings rates can be substantial. Our results explain the boom in savings in East Asia during 1950-90 as a combination of rising life expectancy and falling youth dependency, though they predict that savings in the region will return to more normal levels as populations age. We also find that falling life expectancies in Africa are associated with declining savings rates.
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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number
8808.
Length: Date of creation: Feb 2002 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:8808
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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.:
David E. Bloom & David Canning, 2004.
"The Health and Wealth of Africa,"
World Economics,
World Economics, Economic & Financial Publishing, PO Box 69, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, RG9 1GB, vol. 5(2), pages 57-81, April.
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Angus S. Deaton & Christina Paxson, 1994.
"Saving, Growth, and Aging in Taiwan,"
NBER Chapters,
in: Studies in the Economics of Aging, pages 331-362
National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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