Yesterday I talked about China’s saving problem and America’s spending problem. I promised you an explanation for why the Chinese save 30% of their income. It’s quite simple really. Men do whatever they can to get the attention of women. And in China, saving is sexy baby yeah!

The Chinese love to save money. They love it so much the Chinese government considers in an issue. Though there are economic implications for the US as well, we can’t complain too much since they’re buying all of our debt.

So why do the Chinese get their jollies on saving? Well for one thing many are now in better financial situations than their parents were thanks to education and the emergence of capitalism. The thought of retirement is now very much a reality for some of these people. But that isn’t what’s going on. Perhaps then it’s the fact that the Chinese have more money than they know what to do with. That isn’t the issue either. Materialism is growing in China, and they want to buy those Chanel bags and Range Rovers just like the rest of us. So why are they so much better at saving than we are?

I’m a guy, you’re a girl. But there’s another guy over there, and another over to the left. For every 100 girls born, 122 boys are born. How do I get your attention? As I learned from watching humpback whales in Maui, when there are more boys than girls, competition ensues. For many Chinese family is everything. The current generation’s parents have an expectation that their children will provide for them when they’re old and can’t work. Since there is a huge gender gap in earnings between men and women, many young families will “terminate” pregnancies or even new babies if it’s not a boy. Sad perhaps, but since Chinese citizens are restricted on the number of children they can have, it’s no surprise everyone wants boys.

So family is everything, and families want boys. This means there is a statistical over-weighting of men. The men want to stand out to attract the ladies. The lady wants to be taken care of, but also needs to have her family taken care of. The best way to prove you’re worth her time, is to be WORTH her time. By saving tons of their income, Chinese men are showing the fiscal constraint needed to win the heart of their potential mate. In other words, saving is sexy in China. Quite the opposite here in the States.

Now a little side-note before we depart regarding population control. If you were to tell Charles Darwin about the more boys than girls thing he’d be proud. The men compete for the women, which means on aggregate the men with the most desirable traits get to mate and improve the gene pool. In an environment where the population split is 50/50 and everyone is allowed to mate with whomever they want, you get a nation of idiots the United States. This is not a supportive argument for population control, I’m all for the right to do what and who you want. But if this continues for a few generations, we could see the Chinese become genetically superior to the melting pot gene pool in the US.

Photo: takkatuka

By The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice.

categories: economics, personal finance