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Do the High-Income Households Save More?

Author

Listed:
  • B. GARBINTI

    (Insee)

  • P. LAMARCHE

    (Insee)

Abstract

Do high income households save more? This simple question is crucial when answering many public policy questions such as: are consumption taxes regressive? What is the effect of a tax increase targeting high income? Should we subsidize retirement savings?,& Saving rates have always been found positively linked to current income. Nevertheless, saving behavior might be related to a long-term decision and hence not be only linked to current income. Indeed, households could tend to smooth their consumption. For instance, in case of exceptionally high income, they could increase their savings. Thus saving should be determined by another concept of income: permanent income, defined as actualized sum of expected income without transitory variations. We study the link between saving rate and income using French data and combining five different methods always used separately so far. Hence we were able to compare results from different methods obtained on same data and check for robustness. Our results show consistently that saving rate is positively correlated with current and permanent income.

Suggested Citation

  • B. Garbinti & P. Lamarche, 2014. "Do the High-Income Households Save More?," Documents de Travail de l'Insee - INSEE Working Papers g2014-10, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques.
    • Handle: RePEc:nse:doctra:g2014-10
    as

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    File URL: https://www.bnsp.insee.fr/ark:/12418/bc6p06zr952/f1.pdf
    File Function: Document de travail de la DESE numéro G2014-10
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Bertrand Garbinti & Jonathan Goupille-Lebret & Thomas Piketty, 2021. "Accounting for Wealth-Inequality Dynamics: Methods, Estimates, and Simulations for France," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(1), pages 620-663.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Saving rates; consumption; permanent income; lifetime income; long run;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D9 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

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