具体描述
Despite the recent downturn in the stock market, the 1990s boom and the shift to defined contribution plans mean that more individuals will have significant wealth upon retirement. How they use that wealth will determine not only their own well-being, but also the living standards of their children, the resources available to philanthropies, and the level of investment capital in the economy. This volume explores the reasons why people save, how they decide to allocate their wealth once they retire, and how givers select their beneficiaries. It also assesses the extent to which the estate tax and annuitization of retirement wealth affects the amount and nature of wealth transfers. Finally, it looks at the impact of wealth transfers--first on the amount of aggregate saving and capital accumulation, and then on the distribution of wealth among households. Several conclusions emerge. First, gifts and bequests are important; they may account for about half of total wealth in America. Second, rich people make most of the wealth transfers. They are thoughtful about how much they pay in taxes and how they dispose of their wealth. They care about philanthropic causes and view their charitable contributions as more than a way to avoid paying estate taxes. Third, most nonrich people probably have some lexicographic preferences about the disposition of their wealth; they want to ensure they have adequate resources to take care of their own needs, and if money is left over, they would like it to go to their children. Fourth, little support has emerged for the pure altruistic model of bequests. Fifth, institutions matter. In the case of the rich, the estate tax probably reduces saving and increases bequests to charity. In the case of the nonrich, the shift to defined contribution plans will at a minimum mean that they have more wealth in their hands when they die, and therefore they will leave larger accidental bequests. It might also increase their interest in leaving an estate for their heirs. Saving and bequest behavior remains a fertile ground for future research. Major differences of opinion remain on such important issues as the effect of bequests on the distribution of wealth. The contributors to this volume provide a summary of existing knowledge, push the debate forward, and link topics in a unique and comprehensive way. At the same time, they make clear that many questions remain unresolved about the motives for and effects of wealth transfers.
作者简介
目录信息
读后感
用户评价
这本书的叙事节奏简直就像一场精心编排的探戈，时而优雅地滑行，时而又突然一个急促的转折，让人完全抓不住下一秒会发生什么。作者对人物内心世界的刻画极其细腻，每一个角色的动机都像是剥洋葱一样，一层层揭示出人性的复杂与幽微。我特别喜欢那种在看似平静的日常中，暗流涌动的紧张感，仿佛每一个微笑的背后都藏着一个巨大的秘密。那种“山雨欲来风满楼”的氛围被烘托得淋漓尽致，让人忍不住想要快进，又害怕错过任何一个细微的暗示。整个故事的结构如同一个复杂的迷宫，充满了误导性的线索和精妙的布局，直到最后一刻，所有的碎片才猛地拼凑在一起，展现出令人拍案叫绝的全景。阅读过程中，我好几次需要停下来，整理一下思绪，回味一下刚才读到的那些对话和场景，它们不仅仅是推动情节的工具，更是对社会现象或人性弱点的深刻反思。
这本书的语言风格简直是一场文字的饕餮盛宴，那种老派的、富有韵律感的句式，读起来让人感觉像是在品味一瓶陈年的威士忌，醇厚而悠长。作者似乎对词汇有着近乎偏执的控制欲，每一个形容词的选择都恰到好处，既不显得堆砌，又能准确地勾勒出场景的质感和情绪的温度。我尤其欣赏作者对于环境描写的功力，那些景物描写不仅仅是背景板，它们是活生生的存在，承载着角色的情绪，甚至预示着即将发生的冲突。比如，书中对某个多雾清晨的刻画，那种湿冷、压抑的感觉，比任何直接的心理描写都更能让人体会到角色内心的迷茫与无助。读完一个章节，我常常会回头重读几段特别精彩的段落，只是为了享受那种文字本身带来的愉悦感，那是一种纯粹的、文学性的享受，让人不禁感叹文字的力量可以如此强大，塑造出如此鲜活的世界。
坦白说，我一开始是被这本书的“骨架”吸引的，那个宏大的主题和充满悬念的开场，承诺了一个史诗级的冒险。然而，真正让我坚持读下去的，是那些穿插在主线剧情中的小人物故事，他们虽然不是故事的中心，但他们的存在却让整个世界观变得无比真实和立体。作者非常擅长运用侧面描写来丰满人物，我们可能没有直接听到某个配角的心声，但通过他与其他角色的互动、他处理危机的方式，我们能构建出一个完整、有血有肉的形象。这本书的魅力在于它的“广度”，它不仅仅讲述了一个核心冲突，更是像一幅全景图，展示了一个特定社会阶层在巨大变革面前的不同反应和挣扎。我常常在想，如果是我处在那样一个情境下，我是否会做出和他们一样的选择，这种代入感和思考的深度，远超一般的娱乐作品所能提供的。
我必须称赞这本书在气氛营造上的功力，它成功地捕捉到了一种独特的“时代病”。那种弥漫在空气中、无处不在的焦虑和对未来的不确定性，被作者描绘得入木三分。它不是那种靠突发事件来制造恐慌的作品，而是通过对日常生活细节的精准捕捉，让人从心底升起一股寒意。比如，书中对不同社交场合下人们言不由衷的对话的捕捉，那种表面上的客套与内在的猜忌形成了强烈的反差，让人感觉呼吸都变得困难起来。这本书像一面镜子，反射出了我们这个时代一些难以启齿的隐忧，它并不提供简单的答案或安慰，而是要求读者直面这些复杂的、灰色地带。这种深刻的现实关怀，使得这本书即使在读完很久之后，依然会在不经意间跳出来，提醒你思考某些社会运行的潜规则。
这本书的行文节奏可以说是“大胆”得有些出乎意料。它不像某些畅销小说那样，时刻保持着线性的推进，反而时不时地会采用一些非线性的叙事手法，比如突然插入一段很久远的回忆，或者一个看起来毫无关联的场景蒙太奇。起初，这让我有点手足无措，感觉像是被拽进了一个时间漩涡里，必须时刻保持高度警惕才能跟上作者的思路。但一旦适应了这种跳跃感，你会发现这种打乱的时间顺序反而强化了宿命感和不可避免的悲剧色彩。它似乎在暗示，过去的事情从未真正过去，它们以碎片化的形式，持续影响着当下的每一个决定。这种叙事上的创新，使得整本书读起来有一种后现代的疏离感和智力上的挑战性，非常适合那些不满足于传统三段式结构的老读者。
