E-Book Overview
The declining U.S. national saving rate has prompted economists and policymakers to ask, should the federal government encourage household saving, and if so, through which policies? In order to better understand saving programs, this volume provides a systematic and detailed description of saving policies in the G-7 industrialized nations: the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.Each of the seven chapters focuses on one country and addresses a core set of topics: types of accumulated household savings and debt; tax policies toward capital income; saving in the form of public and private pensions, including Social Security and similar programs; saving programs that receive special tax treatment; and saving through insurance.This detailed summary of the saving incentives of the G-7 nations will be an invaluable reference for policymakers and academics interested in personal saving behavior.
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Public Policies and Household Saving
ceiw
A National Bureau of Economic Research Project Report
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Public Policies and Household Saving
Edited by
James M. Poterba
The University of Chicago Press Chicago and London
JAMES M. POTERBA is professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and director of the Public Economics Research Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London 0 1994 by the National Bureau of Economic Research All rights reserved. Published 1994 Printed in the United States of America 03020100999897969594 1 2 3 4 5 ISBN: 0-226-67618-8 (cloth) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Public policies and household saving / edited by James M. Poterba. cm. - (National Bureau of Economic Research project p. report) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Saving and thrift-Government policy. 2. Saving and investment-Government policy. 3. Taxation. I. Poterba, James. 11. Series. HG7920.P83 1994 339.4’3-dc20 93-42088 CIP
8 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI 239.48-1984.
National Bureau of Economic Research Officers Geoffrey Carliner, executive director Charles A. Walworth, treasurer Sam Parker, director ofBnance and administration
George T. Conklin, Jr., chairman Paul W. McCracken, vice-chairman Martin Feldstein, president and chief executive ofJicer
Directors at Large Elizabeth E. Bailey John H. Biggs Andrew Brimmer Carl F. Christ George T. Conklin, Jr. Don R. Conlan Kathleen B. Cooper Jean A. Crockett
George C. Eads Martin Feldstein George Hatsopoulos Lawrence R. Klein Franklin A. Lindsay Paul W. McCracken Leo Melamed Michael H. Moskow
Robert T. Parry Peter G. Peterson Robert V.Roosa Richard N. Rosett Bert Seidman Eli Shapiro Donald S . Wasserman Marina v. N. Whitman
Directors by University Appointment Jagdish Bhagwati, Columbia William C. Brainard, Yale Glen G. Cain, Wisconsin Franklin Fisher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Saul H. Hymans, Michigan Marjorie B. McElroy, Duke Joel Mokyr, Northwestern
James L. Pierce, California, Berkeley Andrew Postlewaite, Pennsylvania Nathan Rosenberg, Stanford Harold T. Shapiro, Princeton Craig Swan, Minnesota Michael Yoshino, Harvard Arnold Zellner, Chicago
Directors by Appointment of Other Organizations Marcel Boyer, Canadian Economics Association Rueben C. Buse, American Agricultural Economics Association Richard A. Easterlin, Economic History Association Gail D. Fosler, The Conference Board A. Ronald Gallant, American Statistical Association Robert S . Hamad