Life Cycle Earnings and Saving in a Fast-Growing Economy
2010/07/16
研討會日期 : 2010-07-16
時間 : 14:30
主講人 : 宋錚助理教授
地點 : B110
演講者簡介 : Zheng Michael Song got his Ph.D. in Economics from Stockholm University in 2005. He is currently serving as Assistant Professor of the Department of Economics at Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research interest is in macroeconomics, political economy and public finance.
演講摘要 : Rising saving rate－particularly among young households－in rapidly growing economies presents a puzzle because forward-looking consumers should save less when they anticipate future income growth. This paper proposes a resolution of the puzzle by documenting dramatic flattening of age-earning profiles during a period of extraordinary growth in China. We show that once this structural shift in earnings is incorporated, an otherwise standard intertemporal choice model can explain the observed saving behavior. Our quantitative analysis based on dynamic optimization of heterogeneous agents accounts well for the recent surge in household saving as well as the U-shaped increase in saving rates over the life cycle in China.
