Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/leiwps/159.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The low interest policy and the household saving behavior in Japan

Author

Listed:
  • Latsos, Sophia
Abstract
This paper scrutinizes the role of prolonged, expansionary monetary policy on the savings behavior of Japanese households, focusing on the dramatic change of the household savings behavior since 1998, from high to low savings. Existing literature generally attributes this behavioral change to the country's shift from a high-growth to a low-growth economy and its demographic change. In contrast, this paper empirically examines changes in the incentives for saving and the ability to save connected to monetary policy. It finds that monetary policy has had a significant impact on Japan's household behavior via three channels: the interest rate channel, the redistribution channel, and the wealth channel.

Suggested Citation

  • Latsos, Sophia, 2019. "The low interest policy and the household saving behavior in Japan," Working Papers 159, University of Leipzig, Faculty of Economics and Management Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:leiwps:159
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/195770/1/1663195218.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maurice Obstfeld, 1998. "The Global Capital Market: Benefactor or Menace?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 9-30, Fall.
    2. Noriyuki Takayama & Yukinobu Kitamura, 1994. "Household Saving Behavior in Japan," NBER Chapters, in: International Comparisons of Household Saving, pages 125-168, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    4. Jonathan D. Ostry & Carmen M. Reinhart, 1992. "Private Saving and Terms of Trade Shocks: Evidence from Developing Countries," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 39(3), pages 495-517, September.
    5. Carmen M. Reinhart & Ioannis Tokatlidis, 2003. "Financial Liberalisation: The African Experience," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 12(Supplemen), pages 53-88, September.
    6. Toshiaki Tachibanaki, 1994. "Housing and Saving in Japan," NBER Chapters, in: Housing Markets in the United States and Japan, pages 161-190, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. James M. Poterba, 1994. "International Comparisons of Household Saving," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number pote94-1.
    8. Zhou, Yanfei, 2003. "Precautionary saving and earnings uncertainty in Japan: A household-level analysis," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 192-212, June.
    9. Gunther Schnabl, 2001. "Weak Economy and Strong Currency: The Origins of the Strong Yen in the 1990s," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 70(4), pages 489-503.
    10. Murata, Keiko, 2003. "Precautionary Savings and Income Uncertainty: Evidence from Japanese Micro Data," Monetary and Economic Studies, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan, vol. 21(3), pages 21-52, October.
    11. Takayama, Noriyuki & 高山, 憲之 & タカヤマ, ノリユキ, 2003. "The Japanese Public Pension System: What Went Wrong and What Reform Measures We Have," Discussion Paper 179, Center for Intergenerational Studies, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    12. Jonathan D. Ostry & Carmen M. Reinhart, 1992. "Private Saving and Terms of Trade Shocks: Evidence from Developing Countries," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 39(3), pages 495-517, September.
    13. Ayako Saiki & Jon Frost, 2014. "Does unconventional monetary policy affect inequality? Evidence from Japan," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(36), pages 4445-4454, December.
    14. Newey, Whitney & West, Kenneth, 2014. "A simple, positive semi-definite, heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation consistent covariance matrix," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 33(1), pages 125-132.
    15. Ayako Saiki & Jon Frost, 2014. "How does unconventional monetary policy affect inequality? Evidence from Japan," DNB Working Papers 423, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    16. Naoyuki Yoshino & Tetsuro Mizoguchi, 2013. "Change in the Flow of Funds and the Fiscal Rules Needed for Fiscal Stabilization," Public Policy Review, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance Japan, vol. 9(1), pages 51-70, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Mayer & Gunther Schnabl, 2019. "Reasons for the Demise of Interest: Savings Glut and Secular Stagnation or Central Bank Policy?," CESifo Working Paper Series 7954, CESifo.
    2. Schnabl, Gunther & Murai, Taiki, 2020. "The Japanese banks in the lasting low-, zero- and negative-interest rate environment," Working Papers 169, University of Leipzig, Faculty of Economics and Management Science.
    3. Emilia Anuta Corovei & Adela Socol, 2019. "The Macroeconomic Drivers for Household Deposits Growth in the Eurozone," Academic Journal of Economic Studies, Faculty of Finance, Banking and Accountancy Bucharest,"Dimitrie Cantemir" Christian University Bucharest, vol. 5(3), pages 144-151, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Latsos Sophia & Schnabl Gunther, 2021. "Determinants of Japanese Household Saving Behavior in the Low-Interest Rate Environment," The Economists' Voice, De Gruyter, vol. 18(1), pages 81-99, December.
    2. Latsos Sophia, 2018. "Real Wage Effects of Japan’s Monetary Policy," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 69(1), pages 177-215, July.
    3. Mitchell, Olivia S. & Piggott, John, 2004. "Unlocking housing equity in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 466-505, December.
    4. Clovis Kerdrain & Isabell Koske & Isabelle Wanner, 2011. "Current Account Imbalances: can Structural Reforms Help to Reduce Them?," OECD Journal: Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2011(1), pages 1-44.
    5. Cardi, Olivier & Restout, Romain & Claeys, Peter, 2020. "Imperfect mobility of labor across sectors and fiscal transmission," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    6. Nicholas Odhiambo, 2010. "Interest rate reforms, financial deepening and economic growth in Tanzania: a dynamic linkage," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 201-212.
    7. Yaya Keho, 2011. "Long‐Run Determinants Of Savings Rates In Waemu Countries: An Empirical Assessment From Ardl Bounds Testing Approach," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 79(3), pages 312-329, September.
    8. Ibrahim A. Elbadawi & Francis M. Mwega, 2000. "Can Africa's Saving Collapse Be Reversed?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 14(3), pages 415-443, September.
    9. Peter Prazmowski, 2014. "Ricardian equivalence and fiscal distortions in the Dominican Republic," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 109-125, February.
    10. Masayuki Inui & Nao Sudo & Tomoaki Yamada, 2017. "The effects of monetary policy shocks on inequality in Japan," BIS Working Papers 642, Bank for International Settlements.
    11. Clovis Kerdrain & Isabell Koske & Isabelle Wanner, 2010. "The Impact of Structural Policies on Saving, Investment and Current Accounts," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 815, OECD Publishing.
    12. Feld, Lars P. & Schmidt, Christoph M. & Schnabel, Isabel & Truger, Achim & Wieland, Volker, 2019. "Den Strukturwandel meistern. Jahresgutachten 2019/20 [Dealing with Structural Change. Annual Report 2019/20]," Annual Economic Reports / Jahresgutachten, German Council of Economic Experts / Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung, volume 127, number 201920.
    13. Mary Tian, 2015. "Tradability of Output, Business Cycles, and Asset Prices," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2015-3, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    14. Robert Jarrow & Sujan Lamichhane, 2020. "The Effects of Yield Control Monetary Policy: A Helicopter Money Drop to Financial Institutions," Quarterly Journal of Finance (QJF), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 10(01), pages 1-38, March.
    15. Min Lu, 2012. "Current account dynamics and optimal monetary policy in a two-country economy," International Journal of Monetary Economics and Finance, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(3), pages 299-324.
    16. Gianluca Benigno & Huigang Chen & Christopher Otrok & Alessandro Rebucci & Eric R. Young, 2023. "Optimal Policy for Macrofinancial Stability," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 401-428, October.
    17. Anastasios Evgenidis & Apostolos Fasianos, 2019. "Monetary Policy and Wealth Inequalities in Great Britain: Assessing the role of unconventional policies for a decade of household data," Papers 1912.09702, arXiv.org.
    18. Henry, Peter Blair, 2000. "Do stock market liberalizations cause investment booms?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 301-334.
    19. Alan V. DEARDORFF, 2016. "What Do We (and Others) Mean by “The Terms of Trade”?," Turkish Economic Review, KSP Journals, vol. 3(2), pages 281-291, June.
    20. George Alessandria & Joseph P. Kaboski, 2011. "Pricing-to-Market and the Failure of Absolute PPP," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(1), pages 91-127, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    household saving; interest-rate elasticity of saving; Japanese household savings; Bank of Japan; low interest rate policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:leiwps:159. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vileide.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.