Does social security crowd out private savings? The case of Bismarck's system of social insurance


Lehmann-Hasemeyer, Sibylle ; Streb, Jochen



URL: https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/handle/18452/6154
Additional URL: http://eh.net/eha/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Streb...
Document Type: Working paper
Year of publication: 2016
The title of a journal, publication series: Working Papers of the Priority Programme 1859 : Experience and Expectation : Historical Foundations of Economic Behaviour
Volume: 1
Place of publication: Berlin
Publishing house: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Computer- und Medienservice
ISSN: 2510-053X
Related URLs:
Publication language: English
Institution: School of Law and Economics > Wirtschaftsgeschichte (Streb 2011-)
Subject: 900 History
Abstract: Imperial chancellor Bismarck’s system of social insurance (with its three pillars health, accident and pension insurance) was an important role model for social security systems across Europe and in the US. How the introduction of the German system changed economic expectations and decisions of the German workforce has not been researched, though. This article tries to close this gap by analyzing the development of Prussian savings banks’ deposits in the late 19th century. The introduction of social security can affect private savings in at least two different ways: on the one hand, it might induce households to reduce their precautionary savings; on the other hand, it might give people a reason to reflect on their financial needs at old age or when sick, thereby increasing their motivation to accumulate private savings. To identify the causal effect of social insurance on private savings in Prussia, we employ a difference-in-difference-like approach. We show that, in our example, social security crowded out private savings considerably.




Dieser Eintrag ist Teil der Universitätsbibliographie.




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