Douglas Hal Joines

This paper quantifies the role of alternative shocks in accounting for the recent declines in the Japanese saving rate and provides some projections about its future course. We consider three distinct sources of variation in the saving rate: changes in fertility rates, changes in survival rates, and changes in technology. The empirical relevance of these factors is explored using a computable dynamic OLG model. Our model successfully explains historical variation in the saving rate and other aggregate variables including the after-tax real interest rate, hours per worker and output. Model projections indicate that the Japanese saving rate will be much lower in future years and will not recover to levels of 15 percent that were seen as recently as 1990.