DETERMINANTS OF THE SAVING RATE - AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON

Economists have extensively analyzed the interactions between economic-demographic factors and saving. Fertility rates and the dependency ratio have received considerable attention, but the effect of life expectancy improvements have not been analyzed explicitly. This paper provides an added dimension to the existing literature by empirically examining the role of life expectancy as a determinant of saving. Recent data demonstrate that life expectancy is a statistically significant and quantitatively important factor affecting less developed countries' saving performance. One must consider human capital investments when assessing population growth's impact on saving. The analysis here is one of few that incorporate human capital in defining saving. The overall results are sensitive to level of development and regional diversity.