@techreport{NBERw11767, title = "To Leave or Not To Leave: The
Distribution of Bequest Motives", author = "Wojciech Kopczuk and
Joseph Lupton", institution = "National Bureau of Economic
Research", type = "Working Paper", series = "Working Paper
Series", number = "11767", year = "2005", month = "November",
doi = {10.3386/w11767}, URL =
"http://www.nber.org/papers/w11767", abstract = {In this paper,
we examine the effect of observed and unobserved heterogeneity
in the desire to die with positive net worth. Using a structural
life-cycle model nested in a switching regression with unknown
sample separation, we find that roughly three-fourths of the
elderly single population has a bequest motive that may or may
not have an appreciable effect on spending depending on the
level of resources. Both the presence and the magnitude of the
bequest motive are statistically and economically significant.
On average, households with a bequest motive spend about 25
percent less on consumption expenditures. We conclude that, a