CIRJE-F-328 "Saving and Interest Rates in Japan: Why They Have Fallen andWhy They Will Remain Low"
Author Name Braun, R. Anton, Daisuke Ikeda and Douglas H. Joines
Date March 2005
Full Paper PDF file@
Remarks @ Title changed to "The Saving Rate in Japan: Why it Has Fallen and Why it Will Remain Low", subsequently published in International Economic Review, Vol. 50, Issue 1, pp. 291-321, February 2009.
Abstract

This paper quantifies the role of alternative shocks in accounting for the recent declines in Japanese saving rates and interest rates and provides some projections about their future course. We consider four distinct sources of variation in saving rates and real interest rates: changes in fertility rates, changes in survival rates, changes in technology and changes in uninsurable labor income risk. The emprical relevance of these factors is explored using a computable dynamic OLG model. We find that the combined effects of demographics and slower total factor productivity growth successfully explain both the levels and the magnitudes of the declines in the saving rate and the after-tax real interest rate during the 1990s. Model simulations indicate that the Japanese savings puzzle is over.