Do the Retired Elderly in Europe Decumulate Their Wealth? The Importance of Bequest Motives, Precautionary Saving, Public Pensions, and Homeownership
利用欧洲多国微观数据，发现不到一半的退休老人在减少财富，平均财富积累率仍为正（3年6.6%），表明欧洲存在“财富减少之谜”，主要原因是遗产动机、慷慨的公共养老金和不愿出售或抵押住房。
Abstract We use microdata on a large number of European countries from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to examine the wealth accumulation (saving) behavior of the retired elderly in Europe. We find that less than half of the retired elderly in Europe are decumulating their wealth and that the average wealth accumulation rate of the retired elderly in Europe is positive though relatively moderate (6.6 percent over a 3‐year period). These findings suggest that the Wealth Decumulation Puzzle (the tendency of the retired elderly to not decumulate their wealth or to decumulate their wealth more slowly than expected) applies in the case of Europe. Moreover, our regression results suggest that bequest motives, generous public pension systems, and the reluctance of retired elderly homeowners to sell or borrow against their owner‐occupied housing are the primary explanations for the existence of the Wealth Decumulation Puzzle in Europe.