U.S. Personal Saving Rate Analysis and Measurement Debate

Massimo Guidolin of Manchester University examines the decline in the U.S. personal saving rate since the mid-1990s. The paper analyzes measurement problems with standard definitions and concludes the recent drop to low and negative levels is a real economic phenomenon. It reviews and finds lacking several explanations for the steep decline advanced in recent literature.

Use Cases

• Analyze long-term trends in the U.S. personal saving rate based on national income and product accounts data mentioned in the description
• Investigate measurement problems in economic indicators based on the discussion of standard definitions
• Evaluate competing explanations for economic phenomena based on the review of recent literature
• Model macroeconomic relationships based on the analysis of savings rate data

Strengths

• Focuses on a specific, high-profile economic indicator with a clear trend since the mid-1990s
• Provides a critical analysis of measurement methodologies for the personal saving rate
• Includes a review and critique of explanations from recent economic literature

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count and sample data are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data may reflect temporal or source bias inherent to paperswithcode

Provenance

Source

Massimo Guidolin, Manchester University

Collection Method

Analysis of national income and product accounts data and review of economic literature.

Time Range

Trend analysis since the mid-1990s, with specific mention of the past two years.

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

United States