Macroeconomics, Third Edition, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER 4

Saving

In Chapter 3 we saw that the return to saving r, enters into the decision whether to consume or save. There we alluded to the fact that the effect on saving of a rise in the return to saving depends on the relative strength of the substitution and income effects at work.

The substitution effect results from the fact that, with a higher r, the individual finds that each dollar added to saving brings a higher return in the form of increased future consumption. If r rises from 5% to 6%, the individual gets $1.06 to apply to next year’s consumption for every dollar saved, rather than $1.05. This operates to increase saving. A rise in r can be thought of as a rise in the price of current consumption, as measured by the amount of future ...