The average propensity to save (APS), also known as the savings ratio, is an economics term that refers to the proportion of income which is saved, usually expressed for household savings as a percentage of total household disposable income. The ratio differs considerably over time and between countries. The savings ratio can be affected by (for example): the proportion of older people, as they have less motivation and capability to save; the rate of inflation, as expectations of rising prices can encourage people to spend now rather than later (monetary base/mass depreciation).
The complement is the average propensity to consume (APC).
Famous quotes containing the words average, propensity and/or save:
“In the middle classes the gifted son of a family is always the poorest—usually a writer or artist with no sense for speculation—and in a family of peasants, where the average comfort is just over penury, the gifted son sinks also, and is soon a tramp on the roadside.”
—J.M. (John Millington)
“The propensity to truck, barter and exchange one thing for another ... is common to all men, and to be found in no other race of animals.”
—Adam Smith (1723–1790)
“There are times when words seem empty and only actions seem great. Such a time has come, and in the Providence of God America will once more have an opportunity to show the world that she was born to save mankind.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)