Do Savings Matter for Economic Growth? A Meta-Analysis

In existing studies on causal relationships between savings and economic growth, the direction of causality remains unclear. This study surveyed empirical literature on the causal relationship between savings and economic growth from 1992 to 2014. A meta-analysis was performed on 214 sets of results extracted from 48 independent research articles published from 1992 to 2014 to examine the major factors for conflicting causality outcomes. These results were combined for analysis using a logistic regression model. The results revealed that model specification, the level of financial development, and the level of foreign capital inflows affect the savings-led growth (SLG) outcomes, while income level does not affect the outcomes. The Asian financial crisis was found to have reduced the likelihood of SLG.