Saving behavior in low- and middle-income developing countries

Reinhart, Carmen and Ogaki, Masao and Ostry, Jonathan (1995): Saving behavior in low- and middle-income developing countries. Published in: IMF Staff Papers , Vol. 43, No. 1 (March 1996): pp. 38-71.

Abstract

The impact of changes in real interest rates on saving and growth is a central issue in development economics. According to one familiar view, a financial liberalization program which increases real interest rates should encourage saving, thereby boosting investment and growth. While such liberalizations have indeed typically succeeded in raising real interest rates, their impact on private saving has been mixed. This paper uses macroeconomic data for a sample of countries with diverse income levels to estimate a model in which the intertemporal elasticity of substitution varies with the level of wealth. The estimated parameters are then used ta calculate, in the context of a simple endogenous growth model, the responsiveness of saving to real interest xate changes for countries at differing stages of development.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: consumption subsistence low income real interest rates liberalization
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D9 - Intertemporal Choice > D91 - Intertemporal Household Choice ; Life Cycle Models and Saving; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E6 - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook; D - Microeconomics > D1 - Household Behavior and Family Economics

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