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A Theory of the Competitive Saving Motive

Author

Listed:
  • Qingyuan Du

    (Monash University)

  • Shang-Jin Wei

    (Columbia University, National Bureau of Economic Research and Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research)

Abstract
Motivated by recent empirical work, this paper formalizes a theory of competitive savings - an arms race in household savings for mating competition that is made more fierce by an increase in the male-to-female ratio in the pre-marital cohort. Relative to the empirical work, the theory can clarify a number of important questions: What determines the strength of the savings response by males (or households with a son)? Can women (or households with a daughter) dis-save? What are the conditions under which aggregate savings would go up in response to a higher sex ratio? This theory can potentially help to understand the savings patterns in China, India, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other economies that have experienced a dramatic increase in the pre-marital sex ratio.

Suggested Citation

  • Qingyuan Du & Shang-Jin Wei, 2013. "A Theory of the Competitive Saving Motive," Working Papers 252013, Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:hkm:wpaper:252013
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Las mujeres desaparecidas
      by Luis Abenza in Politikon on 2014-11-25 14:01:10
    2. Sex and the Chinese Economy
      by Shang-Jin Wei in Project Syndicate on 2021-05-18 12:50:13

    Citations

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    Cited by:

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    2. Charles Yuji Horioka & Akiko Terada-Hagiwara, 2017. "The impact of sex ratios before marriage on household saving in two Asian countries: The competitive saving motive revisited," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 739-757, September.
    3. Han, Xuehui & Wei, Shang-Jin, 2017. "Re-examining the middle-income trap hypothesis (MITH): What to reject and what to revive?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA), pages 41-61.
    4. Shoshana GROSSBARD, 2015. "Sex Ratios, Polygyny, and the Value of Women in Marriage - A Beckerian Approach," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 81(1), pages 13-25, March.
    5. Raül Santaeulàlia-Llopis & Yu Zheng, 2018. "The Price of Growth: Consumption Insurance in China 1989–2009," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 1-35, October.
    6. Hantao Wu & Ting Li, 2022. "When investment backfires: Unbalanced sex ratios and mental health among boys in rural areas," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 47(21), pages 615-646.
    7. Charles Yuji Horioka, 2021. "Is the selfish life-cycle model more applicable in Japan and, if so, why? A literature survey," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 157-187, March.
    8. S Anukriti & Sungoh Kwon & Nishith Prakash, 2018. "Household Savings and Marriage Payments: Evidence from Dowry in India," Working papers 2018-09, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    9. Shenggen Fan & Ravi Kanbur & Shang-Jin Wei & Xiaobo Zhang, 2013. "The Economics of China: Successes and Challenges," NBER Working Papers 19648, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Anukriti, S. & Kwon, Sungoh & Prakash, Nishith, 2022. "Saving for dowry: Evidence from rural India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    11. Ju, Jiandong & Lin, Justin Yifu & Liu, Qing & Shi, Kang, 2020. "Structural changes and the real exchange rate dynamics," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    12. Timothy J. Kehoe & Kim J. Ruhl & Joseph B. Steinberg, 2018. "Global Imbalances and Structural Change in the United States," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 126(2), pages 761-796.
    13. Manuel Santos Silva & Stephan Klasen, 2021. "Gender inequality as a barrier to economic growth: a review of the theoretical literature," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 581-614, September.
    14. Rufei Guo & Qian Wang & Junjian Yi & Junsen Zhang, 2022. "Housing prices and son preference: Evidence from China’s housing reform," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 421-446, July.
    15. Charles Yuji Horioka & Akiko Terada-Hagiwara, 2016. "The Impact of Pre-marital Sex Ratios on Household Saving in Two Asian Countries: The Competitive Saving Motive Revisited," ISER Discussion Paper 0975, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
    16. Irina Georgescu & Adolfo CristóbalCampoamor & Ana Mª LuciaCasademunt, 2017. "A Possibilistic and Probabilistic Approach to Precautionary Saving," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 64(3), pages 273-295, June.
    17. Min Cui & Jizhou Zhang & Xianli Xia, 2022. "The Relationship between Child Rearing Burden and Farmers’ Adoption of Climate Adaptive Technology: Taking Water-Saving Irrigation Technology as an Example," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-22, June.
    18. Barua, Rashmi & Goel, Prarthna & Sane, Renuka, 2017. "The Effect of Age-Specific Sex Ratios on Crime: Instrumental Variable Estimates from India," Working Papers 17/214, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
    19. Churchill, Sefa Awaworyi & Chang, Simon & Smyth, Russell & Trinh, Trong-Anh, 2024. "The Long Run Gender Origins of Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Australia's Convict History," IZA Discussion Papers 17170, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Charles Yuji Horioka & Luigi Ventura, 2024. "Why Do Europeans Save? Micro-Evidence from the Household Finance and Consumption Survey," Discussion Paper Series DP2024-26, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    21. Wei, Shang-Jin & Zhang, Xiaobo & Liu, Yin, 2017. "Home ownership as status competition: Some theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 169-186.
    22. Xin, Xinyi & Zhang, Anquan & Liu, Lu, 2024. "Study on the influence of Internet finance on urban household savings rate: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 45-61.
    23. Nie, Guangyu, 2020. "Marriage squeeze, marriage age and the household savings rate in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    24. Qingyuan Du & Shang Jin Wei, 2015. "A Darwinian Perspective on “Exchange Rate Undervaluationâ€," Working Papers id:7597, eSocialSciences.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Surplus Men; Savings Race; Trade Surplus; Global Imbalances;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F3 - International Economics - - International Finance
    • F4 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • J7 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination

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