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Why do the Rich Save More? A Theory and Australian Evidence

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  • Chakrabarty, Debajyoti
  • Katayama, Hajime
  • Maslen, Hanna

Abstract

We provide a theory to explain the existence of inequality in an economy where agents have identical preferences and have access to the same production technology. Agents consume a "utility" good and a "health" good which determines their subjective discount factor. Depending on initial distribution of capital the economy gets separated into different permanent-income groups. This leads to a testable hypothesis: "The rich save a larger proportion of their permanent income". We test this implication for the savings behaviour in Australia. We show that even after controlling for life-cycle characteristics permanent income and savings are positively correlated. An improvement in the health leads to a positive effect on savings behaviour.

Suggested Citation

  • Chakrabarty, Debajyoti & Katayama, Hajime & Maslen, Hanna, 2006. "Why do the Rich Save More? A Theory and Australian Evidence," Working Papers 06-02.1, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:syd:wpaper:2123/7656
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    Cited by:

    1. Gandelman, Néstor & Lluberas, Rodrigo, 2022. "Wealth in Latin America," Research Department working papers 1904, CAF Development Bank Of Latinamerica.
    2. Debajyoti Chakrabarty, 2023. "Relative deprivation, time preference, and economic growth," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 19(3), pages 489-525, September.
    3. Néstor Gandelman, 2017. "Do the rich save more in Latin America?," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 15(1), pages 75-92, March.
    4. Daniel Spiro, 2021. "An Open-Economy Ramsey-Cass-Koopmans Model in Reduced Form," CESifo Working Paper Series 9293, CESifo.
    5. Wei-Ting Pan, 2016. "The Impact of Mandatory Savings on Life Cycle Consumption and Portfolio Choice," PhD Thesis, Finance Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, number 32, July-Dece.
    6. Debajyoti Chakrabarty, 2022. "Taxation and human capital accumulation with endogenous mortality," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 73(4), pages 555-596, October.
    7. Dutta, Dilip & Yang, Yibai, 2012. "Endogenous time preference: evidence from Australian households' behaviour," Working Papers 2012-07, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    8. Willi Semmler & Raphaële Chappe, 2011. "The Operation of Hedge Funds: Econometric Evidence, Dynamic Modeling, and Regulatory Perspectives," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Greg N. Gregoriou & Razvan Pascalau (ed.), Financial Econometrics Modeling: Derivatives Pricing, Hedge Funds and Term Structure Models, chapter 1, pages 3-34, Palgrave Macmillan.
    9. Wei-Ting Pan, 2016. "The Impact of Mandatory Savings on Life Cycle Consumption and Portfolio Choice," PhD Thesis, Finance Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, number 2-2016.
    10. Néstor Gandelman, 2017. "Do the rich save more in Latin America?," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 15(1), pages 75-92, March.
    11. Raphaele Chappe & Willi Semmler, 2019. "Financial Market as Driver for Disparity in Wealth Accumulation—A Receding Horizon Approach," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 54(3), pages 1231-1261, October.

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