A Cross-Country Comparison of Old-Age Financial Readiness in Asian Countries versus the United States: The Case of Japan and the Republic of Korea

Autor: ISAAC EHRLICH, YONG YIN
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Asian Development Review, Vol 39, Iss 01, Pp 5-49 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 01161105
1996-7241
0116-1105
DOI: 10.1142/S0116110522500044
Popis: We pursue a cross-country comparison of relative financial readiness of older households in Japan and the Republic of Korea relative to the United States. Our comparative analysis, using macro-level and harmonized longitudinal household financial data, covers the principal financial channels of old-age support: public and private pension plans, family support, and self-management of private financial portfolios. We find that while all three countries have similar public pension systems, older Americans benefit from more developed and better-funded public and private pension systems, as well as individual management of risky financial portfolios. We find that educational and health attainments of household heads and household wealth lead to a greater tendency to hold and manage risky assets. Our decomposition analysis also shows that the gap in stock ownership in Asian countries relative to the United States can be attributed to lower levels of development in financial and pension markets. However, these gaps have been shrinking more recently.
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