How Retirement Saving Programs Increase Saving

Bibliographic Data

ID4881589
AuthorsJames M Poterba (Mitsui Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Research Associates, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts.), Steven F Venti (Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire; Research Associates, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts.), David A Wise (John F. Stambaugh Professor of Political Economy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Research Associates, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts.)
Year1996
Volume10
Issue4
Pages91-112
Publication date1996-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Economic Perspectives (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0895-3309 • E-ISSN: 1944-7965
PublisherAmerican Economic Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1257/jep.10.4.91
OpenAlexW2085190867
LanguageEN
Citations received25
References cited6

This paper summarizes the authors work on the effect of IRA and 401(k) contributions on net personal saving. They consider many different nonparametric approaches to controlling for heterogeneity in individual saving behavior and conclude that the weight of the available evidence suggests that contributions to both IRAs and 401(k)s largely represent new saving. The authors devote particular attention to reconciling their results with the findings in other studies that reach different conclusions, sometimes using the same databases that the authors analyze. Methodological limitations that undermine the reliability of results in other studies explain many of these disparities

Actuarial science · Econometrics · Economics · Nonparametric statistics · Public economics · Engineering · Financial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis · Global Health Care Issues · Retirement, Disability, and Employment