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Growing Household Indebtedness and the Plummeting Saving Rate in Canada: An Explanatory Note

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  • Mario Seccareccia

Abstract

Much as it has occurred in the United States, over the last two decades the household saving rate in Canada has fallen sharply to unprecedented levels, as it now hovers essentially about the zero rate. Accompanying this fall, we have witnessed a parallel rise in household debt ratios — a phenomenon that some have dubbed a state of “affluenza†. The object of this article is to provide an explanation of this phenomenon by pointing especially to the role played by fiscal policy in shifting the burden of debt from the government to the household sector. Moreover, the article raises serious concern about the sustainability of this particular growth process.

Suggested Citation

  • Mario Seccareccia, 2005. "Growing Household Indebtedness and the Plummeting Saving Rate in Canada: An Explanatory Note," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 16(1), pages 133-151, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:16:y:2005:i:1:p:133-151
    DOI: 10.1177/103530460501600108
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Klassen, Theodore J., 2023. "From export boom to private debt bubble: A macroeconomic policy regime assessment of Canada's shifting growth regime in the neoliberal era," IPE Working Papers 203/2023, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    2. Guglielmo Forges Davanzati & Andrea Pacella, 2010. "Emulation, indebtedness and income distribution: A monetary theory of production approach," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 7(1), pages 147-165.

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