Assessing The Decline In The National Saving Rate

The past decade has witnessed a decline in saving throughout the developed world—the United States has the dubious distinction of leading the way. The consequences can be serious. For individuals, their own economic security and that of their families is jeopardized. For society, inadequate rates of saving have been blamed for a variety of ills—decreasing the competitive abilities of American industry, slowing capital accumulation, increasing our trade deficit, and forcing the sale of capital stock to foreign investors at bargain prices. Restoring acceptable rates of saving in the United States poses a major challenge to those who formulate national economic policy, especially since economists and policymakers alike still understand little about what motivates people to save. In National Saving and Economic Performance, edited by B. Douglas Bernheim and John B. Shoven, that task is addressed by offering the results of new research, with recommendations for policies aimed to improve saving. Leading experts in diverse fields of economics debate the need for more accurate measurement of official saving data; examine how corporate decisions to retain or distribute earnings affect household-level consumption and saving; and investigate the effects of taxation on saving behavior, correlations between national saving and international investment over time, and the influence of economic growth on saving. Presenting the most comprehensive and up-to-date research on saving, this volume will benefit both academic and government economists.

For almost thirty years, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) has provided academic and business economists, government officials, and members of the financial and business communities with timely research of current economic issues. Contents include: Articles GEORGE A. AKERLOF, ANDREW K. ROSE, JANET L. YELLEN, and HELGA HESSENIUS East Germany in from the Cold: The Economic Aftermath of Currency Union ROBERT J. BARRO and XAVIER SALA-I-MARTIN Convergence across States and Regions BARRY BOSWORTH, GARY BURTLESS, and JOHN SABELHAUS The Decline in Saving: Some Microeconomic Evidence ALLEN B. FRANKEL and JOHN D. MONTGOMERY Financial Structure: An International Perspective Report ROBERT Z. LAWRENCE Efficient or Exclusionist? The Import Behavior of Japanese Corporate Groups

February issue includes Appendix entitled Directory of United States Government periodicals and subscription publications; September issue includes List of depository libraries; June and December issues include semiannual index

A complete and balanced reference, this timely resource surveys the current state of budgeting throughout all levels of the United States government. The text emphasizes methods by which financial decisions are reached within a system as well as ways in which different types of information are used in budgetary decision-making. It also stresses the use of program information, since, for decades, budget reforms have sought to introduce greater program considerations into financial decisions. Public Budgeting Systems, Seventh Edition retains the structure of the sixth edition yet gives increased attention to topics such as program information and government's role in the economy and has been updated with all new tables and exhibits. Using this text, students will gain a first-rate understanding of methods by which financial decisions are reached within a system, and how different types of information are used in budgetary decision-making.