Chang, R. Y. (1994). Saving behavior of U.S. households in
the 1980s: Results from the 1983 and 1986 Survey of Consumer Finance. Financial
Counseling and Planning, 5, 45-64.
Saving Behavior of U.S. Households in the 1980s:
Results from the 1983 and 1986 Survey of
Consumer Finance
Y. Regina Chang (1)
An analysis of the 1983 and 1986
Survey of Consumer Finance shows that 40% of U.S. households had a decrease in
real net non-housing assets between the two survey periods. This study uses
t-test, bivariate and multivariate analyses to investigate household saving
behavior and identify factors related to it. Multivariate regression results
show that the household’s initial net non-housing asset level is the most
important factor related to increases in net non-housing assets (saving.) The
initial net non-housing asset level in 1983 was negatively related to saving
between the two periods. Households with higher income levels had higher
predicted saving than those with lower income levels. Households with a high
level of risk tolerance saved more than their counterparts. Households that received
windfalls between 1983 and 1986 saved a large fraction (87%) and only consumed
a small fraction of the windfalls received.
Key Words: saving, risk tolerance, net worth
1. Y. Regina Chang, Assistant Professor, Department of Consumer and Family
Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia, 239 Stanley Hall, Columbia, MO
65211. Phone: (573) 882-9343. E-mail: cfechang@showme.missouri.edu.