This is a reflection of changes in various domains; among them, the fast-paced development of the financial sector, which has increased households’ ability to obtain loans and redistribute consumption over their lifetime, the sharp fall in interest rates, which has made those loans cheaper, and demographic trends.
During the years of the financial crisis, the decrease in the saving rate was partly due to low disposable income and households’ attempts to limit the repercussions on consumption. Our surveys on household income and wealth show that the decrease was larger in the case of young people, who were hardest hit by the impact of the recession on the labour market.