Longevity and Life Cycle Savings / David E. Bloom, David Canning, Bryan Graham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bloom, David E.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Canning, David.

Graham, Bryan.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w8808.

NBER working paper series no. w8808

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2002.

Summary:

We add health and longevity to a standard model of life cycle saving and show that, under plausible assumptions, increases in longevity lead to higher savings rates at every age, even when retirement is endogenous. In a stable population these higher savings rates are offset by increased old age dependency, but during the disequilibrium phase, when longevity is rising, the effect on aggregate savings rates can be substantial. Our results explain the boom in savings in East Asia during 1950-90 as a combination of rising life expectancy and falling youth dependency, though they predict that savings in the region will return to more normal levels as populations age. We also find that falling life expectancies in Africa are associated with declining savings rates.

Notes:

Print version record

February 2002.