Collaborative Research: Empirical Studies of Altruism and Saving

本研究由四个独立但相关的实证项目组成，旨在增加我们对利他行为和家庭储蓄的理解。项目考察了货币慈善捐款与志愿劳动力供给的关系；家庭内部私人转移受公共转移影响的程度；1986年个人退休帐户税务处理的变化对家庭储蓄的影响；以及借贷限制对家庭储蓄和耐用品消费的影响。第一项研究建立了一个家庭慈善行为的理论模型，得出了几个重要的实证命题。我们将使用1986年消费者财务调查（SCF）和一个新的志愿服务数据集的数据来检验这些问题。家庭内部转移的研究将是第一个使用收入动态小组研究的数据检查现有理论模型和家庭内部转移的响应性的研究。第三项研究将使用三方SCF小组来分析可扣除的IRA供款限额的法定变化的影响。它将扩展作者在这一领域的先前工作。最后一个项目将调查借贷限制的持续时间以及这些限制对家庭储蓄和耐用品消费的影响。

This research consists of four separate, but related empirical projects aimed at increasing our understanding of altruistic behavior and household saving. The projects examine the relationship between monetary charitable contributions and volunteer labor supply; the degree to which private intrafamily transfers are affected by public transfers; the effects on household saving of the 1986 changes in the tax treatment of Individual Retirement Accounts; and the effects of borrowing constraints on household saving and the consumption of durables. The first study develops a theoretical model of household charitable behavior that yields several important empirical propositions. These will be examined using data from both the 1986 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) and a new dataset on volunteerism. The study of intrafamily transfers will be the first to examine existing theoretical models and the responsiveness of intrafamily transfers using data from the Panel Study on Income Dynamics. The third study will use the three-way SCF panel to analyze the effects of statutory changes in deductible IRA contribution limits. It will extend the authors' previous work in this area. The last project will investigate the duration of borrowing constraints and the effects of these constraints on household saving and the consumption of durables using the SCF panel.