In this dataset, almost all OECD countries compile their data according to 2008 System of National Account (SNA).
The link to the file "ANA_changes.xls" is available for users to provide more information on where OECD countries and non member countries stand regarding the change over the 2008 SNA.
The readers' guide gives general information on the dataset and withheld criteria for this dataset.
Household saving is the main domestic source of funds to finance capital investment, which is a major impetus for long-term economic growth. Household saving rates vary considerably between countries because of institutional, demographic and socio-economic differences. For example government provisions for old-age pensions and the demographic age structure of the population will all influence the rate at which populations save (older persons tend to run down their financial assets during their retirement to the detriment of saving). Equally the availability and price of credit, as well as attitudes towards debt, may also influence choices made by individuals regarding whether to spend or save
One of the changes in the standards of 2008 SNA that directly impacts the saving rates, concerns the treatment of pension schemes. The first change relates to employment related pension entitlements that are expected or likely to be enforceable, are to be recognized as liabilities towards households regardless of whether the necessary assets exist in segregated schemes or not. The second change relates to investment income on assets accumulated by the relevant pension funds, which in the SNA are attributed to the policy holders (households), is now to be set equal to the winding down of the net present value of the entitlements. In the SNA 1993, this investment income had to be set equal to the actually earned income (excluding holding gains and losses). All in all, these changes may have a significant impact on households' saving rates in countries with (partially) funded defined benefit pension schemes, as is the case, for example, in the United Kingdom.
Definition
In the national accounts, household saving is estimated by subtracting household consumption expenditure from household disposable income plus the adjustment for the change in net equity of households in pension funds entitlements (since this component is also a determinant of household disposable income but with an opposite sign).
Household disposable income consists essentially of income from employment and from the operation of unincorporated enterprises, plus receipts of interest, dividends and social benefits minus payments of interest, current taxes and social contributions. It also includes income from imputed rents "received" by owner-occupiers of dwellings. It can be measured on a gross basis, i.e. before deduction of consumption of fixed capital (CFC) or on a net basis, i.e., after the deduction of CFC.
Household consumption expenditure consists mainly of cash outlays for consumer goods and services but it also includes the imputed expenditures that owner occupiers "pay", as occupiers, to themselves as owners of their dwellings and the production of goods for own-final use such as agricultural products - the values of which are also included in income.
The household saving rate is calculated as the ratio of household saving (plus the change in net equity of households in pension funds) to household disposable income (plus adjustment for the change in net equity of households in pension funds entitlements).
Comparability
For pensions provided by government to their employees, countries have some flexibility in the recording of the unfunded liabilities in the set of the core tables, which may hamper comparability across countries.
Saving rates may be measured on either a net or a gross basis. Net saving rates are measured after deducting consumption of fixed capital (in respect of assets used in unincorporated enterprises and in respect of owner-occupied dwellings), from saving and from the disposable income of households, so that both saving and disposable income are shown on a net basis.
Most countries publish ratios on a net basis. However, some countries publish these ratios on a gross basis; which causes an upward bias compared to net ratios (as saving is always less than disposable income and depreciation is unlikely to ever be larger than disposable income). Data for Chile, Brazil, and China are presented gross, not net.
Household saving is the main domestic source of funds to finance capital investment, which is a major impetus for long-term economic growth. Household saving rates vary considerably between countries because of institutional, demographic and socio-economic differences. For example government provisions for old-age pensions and the demographic age structure of the population will all influence the rate at which populations save (older persons tend to run down their financial assets during their retirement to the detriment of saving). Equally the availability and price of credit, as well as attitudes towards debt, may also influence choices made by individuals regarding whether to spend or save
One of the changes in the standards of 2008 SNA that directly impacts the saving rates, concerns the treatment of pension schemes. The first change relates to employment related pension entitlements that are expected or likely to be enforceable, are to be recognized as liabilities towards households regardless of whether the necessary assets exist in segregated schemes or not. The second change relates to investment income on assets accumulated by the relevant pension funds, which in the SNA are attributed to the policy holders (households), is now to be set equal to the winding down of the net present value of the entitlements. In the SNA 1993, this investment income had to be set equal to the actually earned income (excluding holding gains and losses). All in all, these changes may have a significant impact on households' saving rates in countries with (partially) funded defined benefit pension schemes, as is the case, for example, in the United Kingdom.
Definition
In the national accounts, household saving is estimated by subtracting household consumption expenditure from household disposable income plus the adjustment for the change in net equity of households in pension funds entitlements (since this component is also a determinant of household disposable income but with an opposite sign).
Household disposable income consists essentially of income from employment and from the operation of unincorporated enterprises, plus receipts of interest, dividends and social benefits minus payments of interest, current taxes and social contributions. It also includes income from imputed rents "received" by owner-occupiers of dwellings. It can be measured on a gross basis, i.e. before deduction of consumption of fixed capital (CFC) or on a net basis, i.e., after the deduction of CFC.
Household consumption expenditure consists mainly of cash outlays for consumer goods and services but it also includes the imputed expenditures that owner occupiers "pay", as occupiers, to themselves as owners of their dwellings and the production of goods for own-final use such as agricultural products - the values of which are also included in income.
The household saving rate is calculated as the ratio of household saving (plus the change in net equity of households in pension funds) to household disposable income (plus adjustment for the change in net equity of households in pension funds entitlements).
Comparability
For pensions provided by government to their employees, countries have some flexibility in the recording of the unfunded liabilities in the set of the core tables, which may hamper comparability across countries.
Saving rates may be measured on either a net or a gross basis. Net saving rates are measured after deducting consumption of fixed capital (in respect of assets used in unincorporated enterprises and in respect of owner-occupied dwellings), from saving and from the disposable income of households, so that both saving and disposable income are shown on a net basis.
Most countries publish ratios on a net basis. However, some countries publish these ratios on a gross basis; which causes an upward bias compared to net ratios (as saving is always less than disposable income and depreciation is unlikely to ever be larger than disposable income). Data for Chile, Brazil, and China are presented gross, not net.