The problem of savings exclusion and gross savings in the new European Union member states

Abstract

The problem of the exclusion of some households, in particular those less affluent, from the use of financial services available on the market, including savings, is an important issue in the literature due to the objectively identified negative social and economic consequences of such exclusion. The research objective of the article is to attempt to identify factors related to savings exclusion which determine the share of gross savings in GDP in the new European Union member states. To achieve the goal, a panel data model was estimated. The set of statistically significant factors that adversely affect the creation of gross savings in the economy, and thus the higher level of savings exclusion, include the unemployment rate, social contributions, household debt, the Gini coefficient, and the share of people aged 25-49 in the total population. All these variables are negatively correlated with the explained variable, which means that an increase in their value causes a fall in gross savings. The results of the research have shown that such a highly aggregated measure as gross savings in the economy can be useful for analysing selected aspects of savings exclusion occurring in the examined new member states of the EU.