Empirical analysis of households' saving behavior

The demographic change forced Germany and other industrialized countries to bring their pension systems back on a sustainable track. This development has increased the responsibility of each individual regarding old-age income. The affected individuals are forced to intensify their savings to close the increasing gap between public pension income and the standard of living experienced during one's working life. This book investigates several empirical and methodological aspects of households' saving behavior including some in relation to the background of the recent financial crisis. How large are the losses in wealth of German households due to the recent financial and economic crisis in the short- and the long-term? Is the private old-age provision in Germany still adequate after substantial downturns of different asset categories? Who lost the most during the financial crisis, and how are these losses connected to financial literacy or cognitive abilities of households? How many self-employed people are in danger of old-age poverty in Germany? Is the omission of the nursing home population responsible for a sizeable overestimation of saving rates at older ages, which are observed in many micro datasets around the world?