Subjective mortality risk and bequests
By: Li Gan ... [et al.].
Contributors: Gan, Li.; National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series ;; working paper 10789; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) ;; working paper no. 10789.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: Inheritance and succession -- Mathematical models.; Mortality -- Mathematical models.; Life expectancy -- Mathematical models.
Description: "This paper investigates whether subjective expectations about future mortality affect consumption and bequests motives.  We estimate a dynamic life-cycle model based on subjective survival rates and wealth from the panel dataset asset and health synamics among oldest old.  We find that bequest motives are small on average, which indicates that most bequests are involuntary or accidental.  Moreover, parameter estimates using subjective mortality risk perform better in predicting out-of-sample wealth levels than estimates using life table mortality risks, suggesting that decisions about consumption and saving are influenced more strongly by individual-level beliefs about mortality risk than by group level mortality risk"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Also available in print.
Includes bibliographical references.
Title from PDF file as viewed on 1/11/2005.
System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.