The Japanese Saving Rate

摘要

There have been substantial differences between the Japanese and U.S. saving rates in the last 40 years, which have motivated extensive research in this area (see Figure 1). Despite much work, economists have not been able to quantitatively account for the differences in saving rates. In an earlier work, Lawrence J. Christiano (1989) shows that a relatively low initial capital intensity alone is not sufficient for the standard neoclassical model to generate saving rates that come close to replicating Japan's saving rates. Fu-mio Hayashi et al. (1988) find that housing finance institutions and tax policy do not offer a complete explanation of the large gap between the average U.S. and Japanese saving rates in the 1970s. Other factors that may be specific to Japan, such as differences in preferences, the bonus system, high housing prices, high educational costs, and high marriage costs, are also considered in the litera- ture. There does not appear to be a consensus an the importance of any of these factors.