Saving for Development : How Latin America and the Caribbean Can Save More and Better / by Inter-American Development Bank ; edited by Eduardo Cavallo, Tomás Serebrisky.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Inter-American Development Bank

Inter-American Development Bank, author.

Contributor:

Cavallo, Eduardo., editor.

Serebrisky, Tomás, editor.

Inter-American Development Bank.

Series:

Economics and Finance Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Development economics.

Economic policy.

Regional economics.

Space in economics.

Development Economics.

Economic Policy.

Regional and Spatial Economics.

Local Subjects:

Development Economics.

Economic Policy.

Regional and Spatial Economics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxvi, 329 pages) : 94 illustrations, 91 illustrations in colour; digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed. 2016.

Place of Publication:

2016.

New York : Palgrave Macmillan US : Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Why should people - and economies - save? This book on the savings problem in Latin America and the Caribbean suggests that, while saving to survive the bad times is important, saving to thrive in the good times is what really counts. People must save to invest in health and education, live productive and fulfilling lives, and make the most of their retirement years. Firms must save to grow their enterprises, employ more workers in better jobs, and produce quality goods. Governments must save to build the infrastructure required by a productive economy, provide quality services to their citizens, and assure their senior citizens a dignified, worry-free retirement. In short, countries must save not for the proverbial rainy day, but for a sunny day - a time when everyone can bask in the benefits of growth, prosperity, and well-being. This book is open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO license.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

List of Tables

List of Figures

List of Boxes

Preface

Acknowledgments

Contributors

1 Saving for a Sunny Day

Savings: The Sum of its Parts

Why Care about National Saving?

Sharing the Blame for Low Saving

How to Promote Saving for Development

Tackle the pension problem

Focus on infrastructure and capital spending

Target tax policy better

Promote household saving and create a savings culture

Improve productivity growth

Fix the financial system

The Many Faces of Saving

A Policy Agenda for the Future

Notes

2 The State of Saving in Latin America and the Caribbean

National Saving Rates: Comparatively Low

The Private Sector: Taking the Lead

Foreign Savings: A Secondary Actor

Businesses: The Biggest Savers-Worldwide

Farewell to the Demographic Dividend

Too Old to Save?

Higher Income, Greater Saving

Lower-Income Savers: Little to Show for their Efforts

The Bottom Line

3 Financial Systems to Make Savings Count

In Financial Systems, Small Is Not Beautiful

Formal vs. Informal Saving: Quality Counts

Accounting for the Unbanked

The Link between Financial Access and Savings: The Case of Mexico

The Missing Link

4 More and Better Saving for Productive Investment

Investment and National Saving: Low, Lower, Lowest

Financing Investment: No Place Like Home

For Policy, Which Comes First: Saving or Investment?

Investment in Infrastructure: First among Equals?

A Catalyst for Productivity and Growth

Public or Private Investment: Both Is Best

The Other Half

Understanding the Infrastructure Financing Market

Debt Stands Out

Infrastructure as an Asset Class

Institutional Investors: An Untapped Source of Financing

Building a Better Investment Strategy

5 Saving for Stability.

Foreign Financing: A Different Animal

Risky Business: Absorbing Foreign Saving

Not All Foreign Saving Is Created Equal

Different Risks for Different Financial Flows

Financial Integration Is No Cure

Safety First

6 Running Out of Time: The Demographics of Saving

More Elderly with More Needs

Facing the Challenge: More and Better Savings

Fulfilling Promises

Saving for the Future

More-and Better-Savings to Enhance Growth

How Is the Region Preparing for the Future?

Pension Systems: Not an Option Today

Plan B: Household Savings in Other Assets

The Last Resort: Taking Care of Grandma

Act Today, for a Better Tomorrow

7 Saving for the Future: Pension Systems

Newer Systems for Older Populations

PAYG/Defined-Benefit Systems: Promises, Promises

Sustainability

Adequacy and Redistribution

Institutional Arrangements

Recommendations

Defined Contribution Systems: A Work in Progress

Transition Costs

Investments, Returns, and Costs

Retirement Products and Insurance Arrangements

Financial Literacy, Legitimacy, and Confidence

Appropriate Regulation and Supervision

When All Else Fails: Noncontributory Pensions

Pensions Count

8 A Better Way for Government to Save

Current vs. Capital Expenditures: Fix the Mix

Efficiency: A Path to Saving

Energy

Social Programs

Tax Expenditures

Education and Health

Education

Health

It All Adds Up

Saving, from the Top Down

9 Saving Begins at Home

Constraints to Saving

Too Hard to Save Formally?

In the Hearts and Minds of Savers

Family and Friends First

A Behavioral Economics Tale

The Penchant for Instant Gratification

Inertia and Limited Attention: Not All Bad

Policy Recommendations: What Really Counts.

Product Innovation

Keep It Simple

Tackle Behavioral Biases

Incorporate Technology

Keep Testing

Bridging the Gap between Informal and Formal Mechanisms

Getting an Early Start

Redefining Financial Inclusion

10 Firm Productivity as an Engine of Saving

From Japan to the World: The Empirical Link between TFP and Savings

Incentives to Save

Quantifying the Link from Productivity to Saving

The Fine Print

Zooming in on Firms' Saving Decisions

Firm Saving: A Way Out for Productive Firms

A Productive Approach to Policy

11 Breaking the Vicious Circle: Financial Policies for High-Quality Saving

Toward a Well-Oiled Financial Machine

Broadening the Base

Reducing Service Costs

Keeping it Simple

Fostering a Culture of Saving

Banking-The Old Fashioned Way

More than Brick-and-Mortar Banking

Dialing up Technology

Financial Saving beyond Banking

Creating a Virtuous Circle

References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

CC BY-NC-ND

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781349949298

1349949299

OCLC:

961063721