Savings and bequests

the long version

It is of frequent concern that the United States and the United Kingdom have very low rates of personal savings, whereas several other advanced industrialized countries - particularly Japan, France, and Italy - have high rates of personal savings. These essays address the salient questions suggested by this contrast. Do different attitudes to bequests explain the difference in the saving rates among these countries? What are the different kinds of bequest - real estate, financial assets, or human capital? Is it possible to conclude that bequests affect the formation of fiscal policies, or are they neutral with respect to fiscal policies? Finally, what is the relationship between bequests and public pensions?