Saving and the life-cycle: A Cohort analysis

This paper examines the ‘life-cycle hypothesis’ with reference to Japanese employees. The study is based on panel data created from successive cross-section data, which is expected to give better results than past studies. The sample was categorized by many elements. One important result is that empirical testing of saving and the life-cycle is crucially dependent upon the samples. It is found that the majority of Japanese employees have not accumulated wealth enough to assure consumption during retirement. The paper, however, did not reject a hump-shaped course of wealth accumulation under the assumption of myopic behavior.