We argue that the U.S. personal saving rate’s long stability (from the 1960s through the early 1980s), subsequent steady decline (1980s - 2007), and recent substantial increase (2008 - 2011) can all be interpreted using a parsimonious ‘buffer stock’ model of optimal consumption in the presence of labor income uncertainty and credit constraints. Saving in the model is affected by the gap between ‘target’ and actual wealth, with the target wealth determined by credit conditions and uncertainty. An estimated structural version of the model suggests that increased credit availability accounts for most of the saving rate’s long-term decline, while fluctuations in net wealth and uncertainty capture the bulk of the business-cycle variation.

An overview of the saving and consumption patterns of households

The Economics of The Modernisation of Direct Real Estate and The National Estate - A Singapore Perspective Chapter 1 takes a close look the vector auto regression (VAR) model, offering a dynamic system of solely direct real estate variables, for international direct real estate investors and policy makers, to enable their decision-making. Chapter 2 examines the association of residential price and aggregate consumption. A cross-spectra analysis is helps to so validate, because of its model-free characteristics Chapter 3 is concerned with the underlying housing market dynamics and housing price time-series variation, via the Singapore (SG) generalized dynamic factor model (GDFM). Chapter 4 is concerned with the in-depth market analysis and empirical analysis of the structural behavior of the important SG private housing sector. Chapter 5 acknowledges that an in-depth sector analysis and an empirical analysis are imperative to better understand the structural behavior of the SG office sector. Chapter 6 is concerned with the Main Upgrading Programme (MUP), a highly targeted subsidized Housing Development Board (HDB) policy, since the 1990s. Chapter 7 recognizes the ‘National Estate’, denoting SG’s built environment, due to physical planning, integrated urban design, and the direct influence of the SG government in providing physical infrastructure via government ministries, statutory boards and public authorities. Chapter 8 offers the book’s conclusion.

On 14 February 2012, the European Commission presented its first Alert Mechanism Report (AMR), prepared in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No. 1176/2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances. The AMR serves as an initial screening device, helping to identify Member States that warrant further in-depth analysis to determine whether imbalances exist or risk emerging. According to Article 5 of Regulation No. 1176/2011, these country-specific ?in-depth reviews? should examine the nature, origin and severity of macroeconomic developments in the Member State concerned, which constitute, or could lead to, imbalances. On the basis of this analysis, the Commission will establish whether it considers that an imbalance exists and what type of policy follow-up it will recommend to the Council. For Sweden, the AMR suggested the need to look more closely at whether Sweden is exhibiting macroeconomic imbalances of an internal and external nature. On the external side, the AMR highlighted a long series of strong current account surpluses which, however, coincided with a loss in market shares over the last years. On the internal side, the high level of private debt was identified as a matter of concern, mainly due to increasing household indebtedness in the context of strong increases of house prices over the last decade. Against this background, Section 2 of this review looks more in detail into these developments covering both the external and internal dimensions, followed by specific focus sections on the housing market and private sector debt developments in Section 3. Section 4 summarises the findings and presents possible policy considerations.

This Selected Issues paper analyzes the high household savings in Sweden. Preliminary evidence suggests that the large increase in savings after the financial crisis may reflect the rising cost of elder care. Econometric analysis appears to confirm anecdotal explanations that extended life expectancy and a preference for higher-quality residential care have contributed to higher savings. Further analysis using more granular data is needed to test alternative hypotheses for the rise in household savings. Anecdotal reports also indicate that parental assistance in young people’s home purchases could be behind the increased saving and serves as an additional bequest motive. Investigating this possibility would benefit significantly from household level data.