Problems of developing specialized financial services for housing are acute in transition socialist economies (TSE). Some constraints derive from the incomplete and imperfect privatization of the real estate sector. Others reflect the fragmented and undeveloped financial system. This paper examines a financial instrument, contractual savings for housing (CSH), that is often advocated as a major...

Since the early 1980s China has witnessed a rapid increase in its national savings rate to one of the highest rates in the world. Unlike the socialist period when consumption was repressed in order to redirect resources to investment, most of these savings are voluntary. This paper addresses why China’s savings rates are so high and the implications for China’s economy.

2/9/06 2:08:34 PM Health savings accounts, or HSAs, are a new health insurance option that became available in 2004. HSAs couple a tax-preferred savings account (the HSA) with high-deductible health insurance. Enrollees or their employers, or both, make tax-free contributions to the HSA. Enrollees use the funds in their HSAs to purchase medical care until they reach their deductibles. At that p...