International comparison of household savings behaviour : the German savings puzzle

This mea discussion paper presents excerpts of the International Savings Comparison Project covering household savings behaviour in seven countries. The whole series of comparative country studies can be found in a special issue of the journal “Research in Economics†, Volume 55, Number 2, June 2001. The introduction gives an outline of the research program of the project. A project as complex as the International Savings Comparison Project has sparked discussions and controversy. Tullio Jappelli, who has accompanied the International Savings Comparison Project since its inception, has accepted the invitation to write a critical discussion of the project’s work so far. His discussion and a brief rejoinder by Axel BA¶rsch-Supan compose the second and third part of this discussion paper. The last part of this paper presents the results of this project for Germany.