PRECAUTIONARY SAVING: A REVIEW OF THE EMPIRICAL LITERATURE
这篇综述梳理了关于预防性储蓄的实证研究，发现不确定性对消费和储蓄的影响在理论上成立，但实证结果不一致，对储蓄动机的强度和不确定性的测量方法尚无共识。
Abstract Standard macroeconomic models show that uncertainty plays a significant role in consumption and saving decisions under rather mild conditions, namely the convexity of the marginal utility of consumption. Increased uncertainty generates a positive extra saving, the so‐called ‘precautionary saving’. Although this hypothesis has been tested by a large number of authors, both at macro and micro level, the empirical results are not conclusive, and the main conclusion than can be drawn is that there is neither consensus on the intensity of that motive for saving, nor on the most appropriate measure of uncertainty. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the empirical literature discussing the main controversial issues and the different approaches followed by the studies addressing empirically the test of precautionary saving.