Aging, Saving, and Public Pensions in Japan

41 Pages Posted: 23 Jul 2007 Last revised: 9 Oct 2022

See all articles by Charles Yuji Horioka

Charles Yuji Horioka

Kobe University; National Bureau of Economic Research; Asian Growth Research Institute; Osaka University

Wataru Suzuki

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Tatsuo Hatta

National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)

Date Written: July 2007

Abstract

We analyze the impact of population aging on Japan's household saving rate and on its public pension system and the impact of that system on Japan's household saving rate and obtain the following results: first, the age structure of Japan's population can explain the level of, and past and future trends in, its household saving rate; second, the rapid aging of Japan's population is causing Japan's household saving rate to decline and this decline can be expected to continue; third, the pay-as-you-go nature of the public pension system, combined with rapid population aging, created considerable intergenerational inequities and increased the saving rates of cohorts born after 1965, which in turn slowed the decline in Japan's household saving rate; and fourth, the 2004 public pension reform alleviated the intergenerational inequities of Japan's public pension system somewhat but will in the long run exacerbate the downward trend in Japan's household saving rate.

Suggested Citation

Horioka, Charles Yuji and Suzuki, Wataru and Hatta, Tatsuo, Aging, Saving, and Public Pensions in Japan (July 2007). NBER Working Paper No. w13273, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1002052

Charles Yuji Horioka (Contact Author)

Kobe University ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research ( email )

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Asian Growth Research Institute ( email )

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Japan

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Osaka University ( email )

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Suita, Osaka 567-0047
Japan

HOME PAGE: http://www.rieb.kobe-u.ac.jp

Wataru Suzuki

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Tatsuo Hatta

National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) ( email )

7-22-1 Roppongi, Minato-Ku
Tokyo 106-8677, Tokyo 106-8677
Japan

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