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The gWill h to Save in China

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  • Ting Yin

    (Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University)

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss the actual conditions and determinants of the saving behavior and wealth holdings of the aged in China, with emphasis on the impact of bequest motives thereon, using micro data from the 2009 gSurvey of Living Preferences and Satisfaction h (urban households) and the 2010 gSurvey of Living Preferences and Satisfaction h (rural households), which were conducted in February 2009 and January 2010, respectively, as part of the Global Center of Excellence (GCOE) Program on gBehavioral Macro-dynamics based on Surveys and Experiments h of the Graduate School of Economics and the Institute of Social and Economic Research of Osaka University. I found that bequest motives are strong in China, with more than 87 percent of respondents in urban areas, more than 75 percent in rural areas, and more than 85 percent in the country as a whole having a bequest motive, that these bequests are motivated primarily by altruism, that there is little evidence that aged households in China dissave (decumulate their wealth), and that altruistic and selfish bequest motives, especially the latter, increase the saving (or reduce the dissaving) of aged households.

Suggested Citation

  • Ting Yin, 2011. "The gWill h to Save in China," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 11-24, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:osk:wpaper:1124
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    File URL: http://www2.econ.osaka-u.ac.jp/library/global/dp/1124.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Becker, Gary S, 1974. "A Theory of Social Interactions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(6), pages 1063-1093, Nov.-Dec..
    2. Ohtake, F. & Horioka, C.Y., 1995. "Saving Motives in Japan," ISER Discussion Paper 0392, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
    3. Yin, Ting, 2010. "Parent-child co-residence and bequest motives in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 521-531, December.
    4. Hurd, Michael D, 1990. "Research on the Elderly: Economic Status, Retirement, and Consumption and Saving," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 28(2), pages 565-637, June.
    5. Bernheim, B Douglas & Shleifer, Andrei & Summers, Lawrence H, 1986. "The Strategic Bequest Motive," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(3), pages 151-182, July.
    6. Dekle, Robert, 1990. "Do the Japanese elderly reduce their total wealth? A new look with different data," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 309-317, September.
    7. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1, July.
    8. Horioka, Charles Yuji, 2010. "The (dis)saving behavior of the aged in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 151-158, August.
    9. Stark,Oded, 1999. "Altruism and Beyond," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521663731.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bequest motives; saving behavior; wealth accumulation; life-cycle model; altruism model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

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