Li Wei. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-84). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / English Abstract --- p.ii / Chinese Abstract --- p.vii / Acknowledgements --- p.vi / Table of Contents --- p.vii / List of Graphs and Tables --- p.ix / Chapter Chapter 1: --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- Literature Review / Chapter 2.1 --- Social Security and Savings --- p.3 / Chapter 2.2 --- Pension Funds and Financial Markets --- p.10 / Chapter 2.3 --- China's Pension Reform --- p.14 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- China's Pension Reform / Chapter 3.1 --- The Evolution of Pension System --- p.18 / Chapter 3.2 --- The Background for Current Reform --- p.21 / Chapter 3.3 --- The New Pension System --- p.27 / Chapter 3.4 --- Key Issues for Future Reform --- p.31 / Chapter Chapter 4: --- The Impact of Pension Reform on Private Savings in China / Chapter 4.1 --- The Theory --- p.36 / Chapter 4.2 --- The Model --- p.40 / Chapter 4.3 --- Data and Methodology --- p.45 / Chapter 4.4 --- Empirical Results --- p.49 / Chapter Chapter 5: --- The Interaction between Pension Reform and Financial Marketin China / Chapter 5.1 --- The Effects of A Funded Pension System on Financial Market --- p.53 / Chapter 5.2 --- Pension Reform and Financial Market in China --- p.59 / Chapter Chapter 6: --- Experiences of Chile and Singapore and the Implications for China / Chapter 6.1 --- The Pension Reform in Chile --- p.69 / Chapter 6.2 --- The Central Provident Funds in Singapore --- p.70 / Chapter 6.3 --- The Implications for China --- p.71 / Chapter Chapter 7: --- Conclusion --- p.76 / Bibliography --- p.79 / Data Appendix --- p.85

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African financial sector is developed by world standards, surpassing those of other emerging and developed countries. However, despite all this development in the financial sector, the country has low levels of savings. This contradicts some of the available literature which explains the link between financial development and savings. Based on this background, the study empirically examines the relationship between financial development and savings mobilization in South Africa, employing the Johansen cointegration test for the period 1980 to 2012. Based on the lifecycle hypothesis, a model linking savings and its determinants was specified. The empirical results revealed that there is a long-term relationship between savings and the other variables used in the model. The different measures which were employed to measure financial development were found to be positive and significant, implying that financial sector development impacts positively on savings. An interesting observation from the empirical results is the negative relationship between the rate of interest and savings which implies that South Africans are net borrowers as the income effect surpasses the substitution effect. This in part explains the low levels of savings being experienced by the country since an increase in the rate of interest results in people paying more to service their debt and hence a reduction in savings.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A high savings culture is important for sustainable economic development of any country. Whilst Botswana has one of the highest gross national savings in sub-Saharan Africa, the same cannot be said regarding household savings. Household savings in Botswana have grown at a very slow pace between 2003 and 2012, a worrisome trend given the importance of savings. The main objective of the research assignment was to determine the factors that influence households saving behaviour in Botswana. A probit econometric model was used to find out what factors influence households to choose to save and which ones influence them not to save. Saving behaviour was measured by whether an individual has saved money with a financial institution within the past 12 months. The individual characteristics that were modelled for influence on households saving behaviour were age, income level, education level, gender, formal credit, informal credit, insurance and property ownership. The results indicated that, as suggested by theory and empirical evidence, age, income level and education level have a positive and significant influence on households saving behaviour, whereas, also in line with theory, formal and informal credit and insurance have a negative and significant influence on households saving behaviour. Being female also has a negative but insignificant influence on households saving behaviour. Contrary to expectations, property ownership, which was used as proxy for non-financial assets, has a positive influence on household saving behaviour, although the influence is not significant.

published_or_final_version / Economics and Finance / Master / Master of Economics

<p>In South Africa, as in many developing countries, most households are poor and do not save, as a result of which they do not acquire any positive net worth and which also constrains access to formal means of finance. South Africa is a consuming nation, with increasing ratios of household consumption resulting in dissaving and often unsustainable levels of household debt, which is also stimulated by the current lower level of interest rates. This situation is worse amongst poorhouseholds who also often experience financial shocks, for instance because of the death of family membersas a result of HIV/AIDS. This report provided an overview of household saving in South Africa for the period 1983 to 2003. It identified the main factors responsible for the lack of a commitment to saving which are particularly relevant in the case of poor households.</p>

M.Comm. / This study investigates the extent to which South African financial markets are globalised and thus, during the period 1994–2008, integrated with global financial markets. The impact of globalisation on the South African economy is complex. South Africa re-entered the international economy from isolation at a time when the forces of globalisation, especially for developing countries, seemed to gain momentum. The following study focus on equity, foreign exchange and bond markets. The period under study is divided between 1994-2008 and 2000-2008, with the exception of the bond market where the data was challenging to source. Empirical evidence suggests that South African financial markets together with those in emerging economies became increasingly globalised during the period 1994–2008. Analysis finds that South Africa’s equity markets were integrated as common/global factors influenced the markets during the period 1994-2008. According to the findings, SA was even more integrated than the average emerging economies in our sample as global/common factors influenced more of SA equity returns than in emerging economies. However, in general, developed economies were more globalised in both periods under study. However, analysis indicates that common factors play a larger role in determining the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market rather than in equity markets. This implies that foreign exchange markets are more globalised and integrated than equity markets. Global factors only determined 48% of the movement South Africa’s currency during the period 1994-2008, while global factors were more significant in the movement of developed and emerging economies’ currencies during the same period. However, SA foreign exchange market’s integration into the global markets increased with 2000-2008 variance share increasing to 0.97, implying that global factor were responsible the 97% of the variation in the exchange rate – higher than the average variance share recorded for developed and emerging economies. Finally, results for the bond markets show that SA bond market was also closely integrated with global markets although the level of integration was less than that recorded in the foreign exchange rate markets during the 2000-2008.

Lee Man Fai. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 34-37). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgement --- p.iii / Table of Contents --- p.iv / List of Propositions --- p.v / List of Appendices --- p.vi / Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2. --- Literature Review --- p.3 / Chapter 3. --- Money-in-the-Utility Function Models --- p.9 / Chapter 3.1 --- Simple Sidrauski Model --- p.11 / Chapter 3.2 --- Augmented Sidrauski Model --- p.12 / Chapter 4. --- Cash-in-Advance Models --- p.14 / Chapter 4.1 --- Separable Utility Functions --- p.15 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- The Clower-Lucas CIA Model --- p.15 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- The Stockman CIA Model --- p.17 / Chapter 4.2 --- Non-Separable Utility Functions --- p.20 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- The Clower-Lucas CIA Model --- p.21 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- The Stockman CIA Model --- p.22 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Special Case --- p.24 / Chapter 5. --- Conclusion --- p.27 / Chapter 6. --- Appendices --- p.29 / Chapter 7. --- References --- p.34

written by Cheung Man-Chun Doris. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-125). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.iv / LIST OF APPENDICES --- p.v / Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- BACKGROUND OF AGEING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES / Chapter A. --- "Demographic Facts: World, More Developed and Less Developed Regions" --- p.6 / Chapter B. --- "Demographic Facts: Germany, US, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong" --- p.9 / Chapter C. --- Demographic Changes of Hong Kong --- p.12 / Chapter D. --- Fertility-dominated or Mortality-dominated ageing? --- p.14 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- LITERATURE REVIEW / Chapter A. --- Ageing measurements --- p.16 / Chapter B. --- Relationship between Savings and Investment --- p.17 / Chapter C. --- Relationship between Ageing and Savings --- p.19 / Chapter D. --- Relationship between Ageing and Growth --- p.23 / Chapter E. --- Relationship between Savings and Growth --- p.24 / Chapter F. --- Summary --- p.26 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- EMPIRICAL SPECIFICATIONS AND DATA / Chapter A. --- Expectations of variables in Savings equation andin Growth equation --- p.30 / Chapter B. --- Specifications for Panel Data Analysis / Chapter (i) --- The Data --- p.36 / Chapter (ii) --- Methodology --- p.36 / Chapter (iii) --- Specifications --- p.38 / Chapter C. --- Specifications for Cross-sectional Analysis --- p.39 / Chapter D. --- Pros and Cons of Using Panel and Cross-sectional Data --- p.40 / Chapter CHAPTER 5 --- ESTIMATATION RESULTS / Chapter A. --- Cross-sectional Data Analysis / Chapter (i) --- How does Ageing Affect Savings? --- p.45 / Chapter (ii) --- How does Ageing Affect Economic Growth? --- p.47 / Chapter B. --- Panel Data Analysis / Chapter (i) --- How does Ageing Affect Savings? --- p.48 / Chapter (ii) --- How does Ageing Affect Economic Growth? --- p.54 / Chapter C. --- Comparison between the Results from the Analyses of the Cross-sectional Data and the Panel Data --- p.56 / Chapter D. --- Reconciliation between the Conflicts --- p.57 / Chapter (i) --- Difference in the Length of Estimation Periods --- p.59 / Chapter (ii) --- Cross-sectional Effect vs. Time Series Effect --- p.60 / Chapter (iii) --- Sampling Problems --- p.66 / Chapter a) --- Results from Cutting Outliers (Full Samples) --- p.67 / Chapter b) --- Results from Cutting Outliers (Non-poor Country Samples) --- p.69 / Chapter c) --- Results from Entering both Ageing Variables Together (Full Samples) --- p.72 / Chapter d) --- Results from Entering both Ageing Variables Together (Non-poor Countries Samples) --- p.73 / Chapter E. --- Further Examination on the Impact of Ageing on the Economic Growth --- p.74 / Chapter CHAPTER 6 --- CONCLUSION --- p.78 / TABLES --- p.82 / APPENDIX --- p.113 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.121

There appears to be a growing recognition among economists and other social commentators that people attempt to enhance their relative position (which is commonly described as status) through consumption choices and other behaviour. It has been less common to consider whether attempts to enhance relative position impact on saving behaviour. This thesis makes a number of contributions relating to the impact of relative position on saving behaviour. In this thesis I: - consider why concern for relative position may impact on saving behaviour. I demonstrate, with a simple intertemporal model the surprising result that when people are concerned with relative position, income risk can lead to most people saving less and the rich saving more. - conduct an empirical study to test the importance of relative position on saving behaviour. I find a statistically and economically significant relationship between peer income and saving behaviour consistent with theories that people actively forgo saving to seek to enhance their relative position. I use the data to demonstrate that relative position can help to explain why prior research has consistently found that the rich have higher saving rates. - consider the policy implications of relative position to saving behaviour. I examine the policies, primarily corrective taxation, that have been advocated to address externalities of relative position in a static setting. I find that there are significant issues when these policies are considered in an intertemporal setting. I examine the policy of mandatory saving in addressing distortions caused by relative position and the possibility that concern for relative position improves the effectiveness of mandatory saving policy.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 172-197.