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The Saving Glut of the Rich and the Rise in Household Debt

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  • Atif Mian
  • Ludwig Straub
  • Amir Sufi

Abstract

Rising income inequality since the 1980s in the United States has generated a substantial increase in saving by the top of the income distribution, which we call the saving glut of the rich. The saving glut of the rich has been as large as the global saving glut, and it has not been associated with an increase in investment. Instead, the saving glut of the rich has been linked to the substantial dissaving and large accumulation of debt by the non-rich. Analysis using variation across states shows that the rise in top income shares can explain almost all of the accumulation of household debt held as a financial asset by the household sector. Since the Great Recession, the saving glut of the rich has been financing government deficits to a greater degree.

Suggested Citation

  • Atif Mian & Ludwig Straub & Amir Sufi, 2020. "The Saving Glut of the Rich and the Rise in Household Debt," CESifo Working Paper Series 8201, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8201
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    5. Rude, Johanna, 2024. "Income Inequality and Aggregate Demand," MPRA Paper 120875, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    7. Brand, Claus & Goy, Gavin W & Lemke, Wolfgang, 2020. "Natural rate chimera and bond pricing reality," VfS Annual Conference 2020 (Virtual Conference): Gender Economics 224546, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    8. Sascha Buetzer, 2022. "Advancing the Monetary Policy Toolkit through Outright Transfers," IMF Working Papers 2022/087, International Monetary Fund.
    9. Luisa Corrado & Aicha Kharazi, 2022. "Collateral, Household Borrowing, and Income Distribution," BEMPS - Bozen Economics & Management Paper Series BEMPS90, Faculty of Economics and Management at the Free University of Bozen.
    10. Marc C. Adam, 2020. "The Corona Crisis - is this the time for Helicopter Money?," Basic Papers 1, Forum New Economy, revised Apr 2020.
    11. Fierro, Luca Eduardo & Giri, Federico & Russo, Alberto, 2023. "Inequality-constrained monetary policy in a financialized economy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 366-385.
    12. Edmond Berisha & David Gabauer & Rangan Gupta & Chi Keung Marco Lau, 2021. "Time-varying influence of household debt on inequality in United Kingdom," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 1917-1933, October.
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    14. Yixiao Zhou & Rod Tyers & Damian Lenzo, 2022. "Debt, Inflation and the Shape of the Global Pandemic Recovery," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 22-03, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
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    17. Jonathan D. Fisher & David S. Johnson & Timothy M. Smeeding & Jeffrey P. Thompson, 2022. "Inequality in 3‐D: Income, Consumption, and Wealth," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(1), pages 16-42, March.
    18. Benjamin Grosse-Rueschkamp & Jörg Rocholl, 2020. "Ursachen und Konsequenzen von Niedrigzinsen [Causes and Consequences of Low Interest Rates]," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 72(4), pages 401-421, December.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    inequality; saving glut; household debt; unveiling;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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