Demographics and Saving Behavior of Households in Rural Areas of Vietnam: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

This paper studies the saving behavior of rural households in Vietnam from two aspects: volume of savings and methods of saving. Two econometric models are conducted, the first one is a panel data model, used to examine the determinants of household saving; and the second one is a multinomial logit model used to investigate how a household chooses the way to save. Both models are based on the life cycle theory of saving and the permanent income hypothesis. We find that the household head’s age, education and gender are closely related to their saving behavior. And the impact of these variables takes different patterns between the two models. The results are useful for further research in forecasting household savings as well as in micro finance to find a better way of serving people who live in rural areas.