Product Description

This innovative book provides an up-to-date assessment of the factors accounting for differences between people who save and people who do not save money. Humans are forward looking and want to make provisions for future consumption according to saving theories. Some people save and others with similar incomes and wealth do not. Why? While psychology has devoted little attention to the forward looking dimension of human behavior, it contributes theories and techniques for studying the cognitive, motivational, and social factors that affect saving. The book examines the assumption that man is forward looking and desires to provide for the future. It summarizes theories and behavioral research in the area of saving and explores the psychological insights and findings of economists and interprets them in terms of modern psychology. The Psychology of Saving will be welcomed as a major contribution to economic psychology which brings together research and analysis, developing our understanding about rationality, expectations, and consumer behavior.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2534940 in Books
• Published on: 1999-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 389 pages

About the Author
Professor Emeritus of Economic Pyschology, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden

Customer Reviews

A Most Comprehensive Presentation of Savings Research
The price tag on this book should be your first clue that this is not your run of the mill self-help or get rich quick book. This is a well-researched and comprehensive survey and analysis on the study of the mental processes of saving as it has developed through history and how it is presently understood and measured.

The author begins by showing the philosophical underpinnings of both psychology and economics and then shows how the two fields have come together on the subject of saving. Next the author presents and describes modern theories of saving followed by the research that has been done on various populations. The influence of expectations and uncertainty on decision-making is examined, as are attitudes, motives, and personality, including the context of social settings, on saving behavior. The author then evaluates and attempts to integrate the various theories and concepts within savings research. Lastly, the author wraps up with suggestions for policy-makers, consumers and researchers. The book contains a superb bibliography.

This is college level book that has a lot of theories, concepts, and historical background which, while well-written, made for tough reading. The first chapter was by far the most difficult to get through. While I see the logic in choosing to put the historical foundations of economics and psychology at the beginning of the book, I think readers might have been better served had this chapter been included as an appendix. The following chapters were much more closely related to the subject at hand, and grew increasingly more fascinating as I progressed through each one.

Is this book worth spending a hundred dollars? For most readers, probably not. There are much easier and less-expensive ways to learn how to save money, and certainly self-study should be capable of illuminating many of one's own mental machinations in the save/spend decision-making process. I certainly recognized many of my own thoughts in this book. Yet, am I glad I own it? Absolutely. I have never come across such a comprehensive, concept-laden tome on mental savings behavior as this one. I have learned a great deal by reading the study of others and I expect that this book will serve me well, not only as I further consider my own mental processes, but also as a springboard to locating and reading further works in this field.