IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ces/ceswps/_9741.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Does Public Employment Affect Household Saving Rates? Evidence from Chinese Household Data

Author

Listed:
  • Can Xu
  • Andreas Steiner

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of public employment on household saving rates in China using representative household-level data. After controlling for a series of variables such as income, risk attitude, financial literacy, and demographic factors, we show that households headed by public employees have higher saving rates than other households. This positive association holds after controlling for self-selection bias. Public employees are more likely to save for their children and they have a higher saving capacity than non-public employees due to better social security. Our results contribute to a better understanding of Chinese household saving rates, which is of great importance given their extremely high level in international comparison.

Suggested Citation

  • Can Xu & Andreas Steiner, 2022. "Does Public Employment Affect Household Saving Rates? Evidence from Chinese Household Data," CESifo Working Paper Series 9741, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9741
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp9741.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Drechsel-Grau, Moritz & Schmid, Kai D., 2014. "Consumption–savings decisions under upward-looking comparisons," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 254-268.
    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. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Lugauer, Steven & Ni, Jinlan & Yin, Zhichao, 2019. "Chinese household saving and dependent children: Theory and evidence," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    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. Démurger, Sylvie & Li, Shi & Yang, Juan, 2012. "Earnings differentials between the public and private sectors in China: Exploring changes for urban local residents in the 2000s," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 138-153.
    8. Scott R. Baker & Efraim Benmelech & Zhishu Yang & Qi Zhang, 2022. "Fertility and Savings: The Effect of China’s Two-Child Policy on Household Savings," NBER Working Papers 29856, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. 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.
    10. Yvonne Jie Chen & Zhiwu Chen & Shijun He, 2019. "Social Norms and Household Savings Rates in China," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 23(5), pages 961-991.
    11. Xin Meng, 2012. "Labor Market Outcomes and Reforms in China," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(4), pages 75-102, Fall.
    12. 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.
    13. James Ang, 2009. "Household Saving Behaviour in an Extended Life Cycle Model: A Comparative Study of China and India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(8), pages 1344-1359.
    14. Mundlak, Yair, 1978. "On the Pooling of Time Series and Cross Section Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(1), pages 69-85, January.
    15. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    16. Horag Choi & Steven Lugauer & Nelson C. Mark, 2017. "Precautionary Saving of Chinese and U.S. Households," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(4), pages 635-661, June.
    17. Dejing Kong & David Dickinson, 2016. "Investigating the Impact of Income on Savings Using a Chinese Household Level Dataset," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(8), pages 1775-1796, August.
    18. Li Gan & Zhichao Yin & Jijun Tan, 2016. "Report on the Development of Household Finance in Rural China (2014)," Springer Books, Springer, edition 1, number 978-981-10-0409-4, September.
    19. 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.
    20. Ben S. Bernanke, 2005. "The global saving glut and the U.S. current account deficit," Speech 77, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    21. Xu Cui & Jing Jian Xiao & Jingtao Yi, 2019. "Employment Type, Residential Status And Consumer Financial Capability: Evidence From China Household Finance Survey," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(01), pages 57-81, March.
    22. Jie Gao & Dongmin Kong & Gaowen Kong, 2019. "Who Secures Job Opportunities in the Chinese Government? Evidence Based on the First Jobs of Graduates from a Chinese College," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 447-463, August.
    23. Jia, Ruixue & Lan, Xiaohuan & Padró i Miquel, Gerard, 2021. "Doing business in China: Parental background and government intervention determine who owns busines," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    24. Yang, Xintong & Gan, Li, 2020. "Bequest motive, household portfolio choice, and wealth inequality in urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    25. Feng, Xiangnan & Lu, Bin & Song, Xinyuan & Ma, Shuang, 2019. "Financial literacy and household finances: A Bayesian two-part latent variable modeling approach," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 119-137.
    26. Jon Wisman, 2009. "Household Saving, Class Identity, and Conspicuous Consumption," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(1), pages 89-114.
    27. Ge, Suqin & Yang, Dennis Tao & Zhang, Junsen, 2018. "Population policies, demographic structural changes, and the Chinese household saving puzzle," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 181-209.
    28. Weiss, Yoram & Fershtman, Chaim, 1998. "Social status and economic performance:: A survey," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(3-5), pages 801-820, May.
    29. repec:fip:fedgsq:y:2005:i:mar10 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Chen, Chien-Liang & Kuan, Chung-Ming & Lin, Chu-Chia, 2007. "Saving and housing of Taiwanese households: New evidence from quantile regression analyses," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 102-126, June.
    31. Feng, Jin & He, Lixin & Sato, Hiroshi, 2011. "Public pension and household saving: Evidence from urban China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 470-485.
    32. Feldstein, Martin S, 1974. "Social Security, Induced Retirement, and Aggregate Capital Accumulation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(5), pages 905-926, Sept./Oct.
    33. Lyons, Angela C. & Grable, John E. & Zeng, Ting, 2019. "Impacts of Financial Literacy on the Loan Decisions of Financially Excluded Households in the People's Republic of China," ADBI Working Papers 923, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    34. Ruixue Jia & Xiaohuan Lan & Gerard Padró I Miquel, 2021. "Doing Business in China: Parental Background and Government Intervention Determine Who Owns Businesses," NBER Working Papers 28547, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    35. Yongbo Ge & Hongyu Chen & Liping Zou & Zhuojun Zhou, 2021. "Political Background and Household Financial Asset Allocation in China," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(4), pages 1232-1246, March.
    36. Adema, Yvonne & Pozzi, Lorenzo, 2015. "Business cycle fluctuations and household saving in OECD countries: A panel data analysis," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 214-233.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. 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.
    2. Bollinger, Christopher & Ding, Xiaozhou & Lugauer, Steven, 2022. "The expansion of higher education and household saving in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    3. Manger, Mark S. & Matthews, J. Scott, 2021. "Knowing when to splurge: Precautionary saving and Chinese-Canadians," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. Song, Zhongchen & Coupé, Tom & Reed, W. Robert, 2021. "Estimating the effect of the one-child policy on Chinese household savings - Evidence from an Oaxaca decomposition," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    7. 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.
    8. Cubizol, Damien, 2018. "Transition and capital misallocation: the Chinese case," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 88-115.
    9. 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.
    10. Zeng, Miao & Du, Jiang & Zhu, Xiaoyu & Deng, Xin, 2023. "Does internet use drive rural household savings? Evidence from 7825 farmer households in rural China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    11. Jianmei Zhao & Lele Zhao, 2022. "Mobile payment adoption and the decline in China’s household savings rate," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(5), pages 2513-2537, November.
    12. Isha Chawla & Joseph Svec, 2023. "Household savings and present bias among Chinese couples: A household bargaining approach," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 648-672, January.
    13. 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.
    14. 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).
    15. Damien Cubizol, 2017. "Transition and capital misallocation: the Chinese case," Working Papers halshs-01176919, HAL.
    16. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/c87bgksc18ba9tn72tqcganvu is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Horag Choi & Steven Lugauer & Nelson C. Mark, 2017. "Precautionary Saving of Chinese and U.S. Households," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(4), pages 635-661, June.
    18. Banerjee, Abhijit & Qian, Nancy & Meng, Xin & Porzio, Tommaso, 2014. "Aggregate Fertility and Household Savings: A General Equilibrium Analysis using Micro Data," CEPR Discussion Papers 9935, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    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. 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.
    21. He, Hui & Huang, Feng & Liu, Zheng & Zhu, Dongming, 2018. "Breaking the “iron rice bowl:” Evidence of precautionary savings from the chinese state-owned enterprises reform," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 94-113.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    public employment; household saving rates; Chinese economy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ces:ceswps:_9741. 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: Klaus Wohlrabe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.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.