You are Invited – Beyond our Means: Why America Spends While the World Saves

The Program on America and the Global Economy

invites you to a book discussion:

Beyond Our Means: Why America Spends While the World Saves

with author

Sheldon Garon

Professor of History and East Asian Studies, Princeton University, and former Wilson Center Fellow

Moderated by

Kent Hughes

Director of Program on America and the Global Economy, Wilson Center

If the financial crisis has taught us anything, it is that Americans save too little, spend too much, and borrow excessively. What can we learn from East Asian and European countries that have fostered enduring cultures of thrift over the past two centuries?  Many economists believe people save according to universally rational calculations, saving the most in their middle years as they plan for retirement, and saving the least in welfare states. In reality, Europeans save at high rates despite generous welfare programs and aging populations. Americans save little, despite weaker social safety nets and a younger population. Tracing the development of such behaviors across three continents from the nineteenth century to today, Beyond Our Means highlights the role of institutions in shaping habits of saving and spending, and reveals why some nations save so much and others so little.

Friday, December 2, 2011, 1:00pm – 2:30 p.m.

Sixth Floor Moynihan Board Room   Woodrow Wilson Center

Please RSVP acceptances only to page@wilsoncenter.org.

Posted by: PAGE Staff