Social Norms and Household Savings Rates in China

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 961-991
Author(s):  
Yvonne Jie Chen ◽  
Zhiwu Chen ◽  
Shijun He
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Filial Piety ◽  
Household Finance ◽  
Household Savings ◽  
Savings Rate ◽  
Model Predictions ◽  
Enforcement Mechanisms ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Period Model ◽  
Savings Rates

Abstract We study the effects of Confucian social norms on savings rates in China. In our simple two-period model, parents have the option to invest in either a risk-free asset or their children’s human capital. We assume that the filial piety norms and thus the enforcement mechanisms for supporting old-age parents differ across regions. Consequently, the probability of children’s non-performance of their repayment obligations to parents and the returns parents can expect from investing in their children vary. We test the model predictions using data from the China Household Finance Survey. We find that stronger Confucian social norms reduce the gap in the savings rate between families with sons and with daughters. Modeling default by children as a function of the prevailing social norms gives us the flexibility to study the impacts of declining Confucian influence on consumption–savings trends in China.

scholarly journals Why Are Saving Rates of Urban Households in China Rising?

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos D. Chamon ◽  
Eswar S. Prasad
Keyword(s):  
Financial Assets ◽  
Household Savings ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
Savings Rate ◽  
Future Income ◽  
China Rose ◽  
Age Profile ◽  
Saving Rates ◽  
Savings Rates

From 1995 to 2005, the average urban household savings rate in China rose by 7 percentage points, to about one-quarter of disposable income. Savings rates increased across all demographic groups, and the age profile of savings has an unusual pattern in recent years, with younger and older households having relatively high savings rates. We argue that these patterns are best explained by the rising private burden of expenditures on housing, education, and health care. These effects and precautionary motives may have been amplified by financial underdevelopment, including constraints on borrowing against future income and low returns on financial assets. (JEL D14, E21, O12, O18, P25, P36)

scholarly journals Gene–environment interactions related to body mass: School policies and social context as environmental moderators

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 370-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason D Boardman ◽  
Michael E Roettger ◽  
Benjamin W Domingue ◽  
Matthew B McQueen ◽  
Brett C Haberstick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
School Policies ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Genetic Components ◽  
Institutional Resources ◽  
Using Data ◽  
School Differences

This paper highlights the role of institutional resources and policies, whose origins lie in political processes, in shaping the genetic etiology of body mass among a national sample of adolescents. Using data from Waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we decompose the variance of body mass into environmental and genetic components. We then examine the extent to which the genetic influences on body mass are different across the 134 schools in the study. Taking advantage of school differences in both health-related policies and social norms regarding body size, we examine how institutional resources and policies alter the relative impact of genetic influences on body mass. For the entire sample, we estimate a heritability of .82, with the remaining .18 due to unique environmental factors. However, we also show variation about this estimate and provide evidence suggesting that social norms and institutional policies often mask genetic vulnerabilities to increased weight. Empirically, we demonstrate that more restrictive school policies and policies designed to curb weight gain are also associated with decreases in the proportion of variance in body mass that is due to additive genetic influences.

scholarly journals Population Aging, Household Savings and Asset Prices: A Study Based on Urban Commercial Housing Prices

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shihong Zeng ◽  
Xinwei Zhang ◽  
Xiaowei Wang ◽  
Guowang Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Asset Prices ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Interaction Analysis ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Housing Prices ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Dependency Ratio ◽  
Household Savings ◽  
Savings Rate ◽  
The Impact

Currently, China’s aging population, high savings rate and high housing asset prices coexist, which has become a hot issue in academic research. First, considering the life-cycle hypothesis and overlapping generations model, asset prices are negatively correlated with the population dependency ratio and positively correlated with household savings. Second, based on census data from prefecture-level cities, a pooled regression model and two-stage least squares (2SLS) are used in this empirical research. The child dependency ratio was found to have a significant negative impact on housing prices, while the elderly dependency ratio had a positive impact on housing prices. The positive relationship between household savings and housing prices is highly significant. Finally, the interaction analysis shows that the impact of population aging on housing prices differs under different levels of household savings; thus, population aging affects housing prices through household savings, and the mediator dilutes and weakens this impact. The elderly generation’s release of savings could gradually inhibit housing prices. Population aging causes long-run downside risks but not a market meltdown.

National Character and Personal Savings

1997 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 1018-1018
Author(s):  
Bijou Yang ◽  
David Lester
Keyword(s):  
National Character ◽  
Household Savings ◽  
Savings Rate ◽  
Industrialized Nations ◽  
Personal Savings

For 14 industrialized nations in 1960, the household savings rate was positively associated with indices of national character, positively with neuroticism and negatively with extraversion.

scholarly journals Socio-economic Characteristics and Household Savings: An Analysis of the Households' Saving Behaviour in Pakistan

1992 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadeem A. Burney ◽  
Ashfaque H. Khan
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Rural Households ◽  
Household Head ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Resource Mobilization ◽  
Household Savings ◽  
General Belief ◽  
Savings Rate ◽  
Domestic Resource

Domestic resource mobilization is one of the key determinants of sustained economic growth. Pakistan's perfonnance with regard to domestic resource mobilization has been poor despite maintaining a respectable economic growth rate. Why is the savings rate so low in Pakistan? In this paper we analyse the household savings behaviour in Pakistan, using micro level data of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) for the year 1984-85. Three different non-linear savings functions attributed to Keynes, Klein, and Landau are estimated separately for the urban and the rural households, using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) technique. It is found that the average income and saving of an urban household are considerably higher than those of overall Pakistan or a rural household. However, contrary to the general belief, it is found that the propensity to save of the rural households is much higher than that of their urban counterparts. The dependency ratio and the various categories of education are found to have a negative influence on household savings. No systematic relationship is found between savings and the employment status and occupation of the household head. It is found, however, that saving increases with age but tends to decline when the age crosses a certain limit - a finding consistent with the Life Cycle Hypothesis.

Care Preferences Among Chinese Older Adults with Daily Care Needs: Individual and Community Factors

2020 ◽  
pp. 016402752093932
Author(s):  
Jiehua Lu ◽  
Li Zhang ◽  
Kunyu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Filial Piety ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Modern China ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Community Factors ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Using Data

Traditionally, Chinese families have been the primary provider of care for older adults, and older people expected family care. However, along with the modernization and demographic transition, family functions have been weakened, and state-based care has begun to play an essential role in supporting family care for older people. This paper aims to assess the care preferences of older people and the different responsibilities of individuals and communities in modern China. Using data from the 2014 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS) and multinomial logistic regression modeling, we find that family care remains the cornerstone for older adults and their care preferences are associated with individual and community factors, mainly including the number of children, education level, residential area, the presence of health infrastructure and care facilities, and the values associated with filial piety of older adults.

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