This paper describes the general design of the SAVE survey: the design of the questionnaire, inter-viewer and interviewee motivation, and the sampling designs of the various subsamples collected in 2001 and 2003. It discusses the representativeness of the data, explains the construction of...

General purpose surveys typically refrain from using an exhaustive list of consumption expenditure items since the gain of more precise data on consumption is usually more than offset by the large increase in interview time and respondent effort which reduces re-sponse willingness. An...

Demographic change presents major financing problems for the pay-as-you-go pension system. In response to these problems, the 2001 and 2004 German pension reforms reduced the statutory level of benefits from the pay-as-you system. The resulting pension gap is supposed to be filled by funded...

Germany is not a country of stock holders – but this may change. This paper analyses the main trends in stockholding – either directly or indirectly through mutual funds and other managed investment accounts – among German households. We find a significant shift towards...