Working Paper: NBER ID: w14653
Authors: Mariacristina De Nardi; Eric French; John Bailey Jones
Abstract: Rich people, women, and healthy people live longer. We document that this heterogeneity in life expectancy is large, and we use an estimated structural model to assess its effect on the elderly's saving. We find that the differences in life expectancy related to observable factors such as income, gender, and health have large effects on savings, and that these factors contribute by similar amounts. We also show that the risk of outliving one's expected lifespan has a large effect on the elderly's saving behavior.
Keywords: life expectancy; elderly savings; health; income; gender
JEL Codes: D1; D31; D91; E21; H31; I1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| life expectancy (J17) | elderly saving behavior (D14) |
| income (E25) | life expectancy (J17) |
| health (I19) | life expectancy (J17) |
| gender (J16) | life expectancy (J17) |
| life expectancy (J17) | risk of outliving expected lifespan (D15) |
| risk of outliving expected lifespan (D15) | elderly saving behavior (D14) |
| health status (I12) | elderly saving behavior (D14) |
| income (E25) | elderly saving behavior (D14) |
| gender (J16) | elderly saving behavior (D14) |