title: Saving and consumption patterns of the elderly:  the German case.
abstract: "The paper provides an empirical analysis of saving and consumption choices of the elderly in [the former West] Germany, based on the German income and expenditure surveys 1978 and 1983.... The observed age-consumption profiles are very different from those predicted by the pure life-cycle theory.  Although wealth is declining between age 60 and 70, it increases again after 70, such that the very old have the highest savings rates among all age groups and accumulate wealth rather than decumulate it."
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borsch-supan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003710:Demography; D019049:Developed Countries; D004467:Economics; D005060:Europe; D005860:Germany, West; D007182:Income; D011153:Population; D011154:Population Characteristics
keywords: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Consumption; Demographic Factors; Developed Countries; Economic Factors; Europe; Germany, Federal Republic Of; Macroeconomic Factors; Population; Population Characteristics; Savings; Western Europe