Discussion Paper Series 2012-E-17

Aging and Household Stockholdings: Evidence from Japanese Household Survey Data

Hiroshi Fujiki, Naohisa Hirakata, Etsuro Shioji

Using Japanese household survey data from 2007 to 2010, we examine how household age, income, financial assets, and education affect the tendency to participate in the stock market. Our analysis suggests that the probability of stock market participation correlates weakly with age, holding constant other household characteristics, including the preference toward online financial transactions. The share of stocks in total household financial assets correlates positively with age, holding constant the other variables listed above. Our results suggest that older households tend to have more stocks than younger households, but this is mainly because older households have more financial assets on average than younger households: the effects of age per se are statistically significant but small in size.

Keywords: Stockholding Puzzle; Participation; Online Financial Transactions


Views expressed in the paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Bank of Japan or Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies.

Copyright © 2012 Bank of Japan All Rights Reserved.

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