This paper analyses recent contributions to the theory of household saving and examines empirical evidence on the subject. It focuses on (a) the derivation and estimation of first-order conditions for a consumer's optimum lfe-cycle consumption plan, (b) the conditions under which such conditions...

In section 1.2 we shall examine the optimal taxation of capital and labor incomes in a simple growth model and derive formulae for the optimal tax rates. These are used in section 1.3 to evaluate claims that abolishing capital income taxes would lead to large welfare gains. Inflation is...

A substantial literature exists on the impact of pension schemes, both public and private, on the level of household saving. Yet there is no clear consensus on the impact of pensions on private saving. In this paper we show how beliefs about this displacement effect are modified by prior beliefs...