Description

This paper provides an overview of the current state of knowledge regarding the determinants of saving rates. In the context of this overview, the paper presents the main findings and contributions of the body of empirical research on saving determinants, complemented by the results of the recently-completed World Bank research project Saving Across the World. The paper starts by discussing the basic design of the research project and its core database (the World Saving Database) and reviewing the major stylized facts on saving across the world. Then the paper summarizes the main project results and places them in the context of the saving literature, identifying the key policy and non-policy determinants of private saving rates, and paying special attention to the relation between growth and saving and the impact of specific policies on saving rates.