DP17872 The Trickling Up of Excess Savings

• Adrien Auclert Matthew Rognlie Ludwig Straub
2 Feb 2023

We provide a simple framework connecting the distribution of excess savings across house- holds to the dynamics of aggregate demand. Deficit-financed fiscal transfers generate excess savings. The poorest households with the highest MPCs spend down their excess savings the fastest, increasing other households’ incomes and their excess savings. This leads to a long- lasting increase in aggregate demand until, ultimately, excess savings have “trickled up” to the richest savers with the lowest MPCs, raising wealth inequality.