Differences in Household Savings Behavior: Evidence From Industrial and Developing Countries

NDERSTANDING the nature of household savings behavior is critical in designing policies to promote savings and investment. Given the differences in the economic environment of the developing and industrial countries there should be substantial variation in the household behavior. Most of the empirical literature that analyzed cross-country savings behavior concentrated on aggregate savings due to the lack of consistent information on household behavior and possible differences in the household savings in developing versus industrial countries were disregarded. This study aims at examining the differences in household savings behavior in developing and industrial countries from a cross-country perspective.