In this paper we provide an explanation for three features that characterize the Italian savings rate: by international standards, Italy is a `high-saving' country; the Italian savings rate has declined markedly in the last three decades; the correlation between saving and growth is stronger in...

We test for the presence of precautionary saving using a self-reported measure of earnings uncertainty drawn from the 1989 Italian Survey of Household Income and Wealth. The effect of uncertainty on saving and wealth accumulations is consistent with the theory of precautionary saving and with...

Economic theory suggests that uninsurable income risk, health risk and the expectation of future borrowing constraints can reduce the share of risky assets in a household's portfolio. In fact, if its utility function exhibits decreasing absolute risk aversion and decreasing prudence, a household...