107k views
5 votes
Diane knows that she will retire. suppose diane has two life stages, one is working and earning income, and the other is retirement and no income. diane could earn $250,000 during her working life and earn none during her retirement. she must save and consume during her working time with an interest rate of 10% on her savings. if savings interest rates increase, it is possible that

a. anything can happen.
b. diane will not change her consumption during her working hours.
c. diane will increase her savings during her working time.
d. diane will reduce her savings while working.

User WeGa
by
7.3k points

1 Answer

3 votes

Final answer:

Higher savings interest rates would likely motivate Diane to increase her savings during her working life, with the anticipation that the greater future value of these savings will support her in retirement when she has no income.

Step-by-step explanation:

When the savings interest rates increase, it would incentivize Diane to save more during her working life because her savings would accumulate more interest over time. Given that her income is greater than her needs during her working life, she would be likely to allocate a higher proportion of her income towards savings, as opposed to consumption, in anticipation of a future with no income. The effect of higher interest rates is to increase the future value of savings, which, according to the life-cycle hypothesis, suggests individuals will save more in the present to benefit from this increased future consumption.

Therefore, if Diane acts according to this economic behavior, she will likely increase her savings. This behavior aligns with the general tendency that when people anticipate higher returns to savings, they increase their current saving, as evidenced in the effects programs like Social Security have on savings habits.

User Uksz
by
7.8k points