Rue de la Banque no. 9: How can the rise in the French household saving ratio since the start of the crisis be explained?

Lower growth in purchasing power and the rise in unemployment do not provide a sufficient explanation for the weakness observed in consumer spending since the beginning of the crisis. Beside various theories put forward as an explanation (impact of the decline in consumer confidence on spending behavior; effect of changes in the structure of disposable income…), households may have changed their permanent income expectations.