Investigating how inflation expectations affect precautionary wealth

Abstract

This study examines how inflation expectations affect precautionary wealth by focusing on the period of zero or low-interest rates in Japan and using Japanese household survey data during this period. The key finding of this paper is that experienced inflation as a proxy for inflation expectations has a positive impact on the target ratio of precautionary wealth to permanent income. This is consistent with the prediction of the buffer stock (Carroll, 1997) that given the nominal interest rate (as has been observed in Japan), higher inflation expectations raise the target ratio when households expect higher inflation to translate into their nominal income in a limited way. This study also confirms that actual liquid wealth gradually converges to the target level of precautionary wealth over the years, which is consistent with the implications of the buffer stock model.