Savings rate in Latin American countries have been stagnant over the last decades.To investigate this situation, this paper employs panel data techniques to identify savings determinants and perform counterfactual analysis using China, whose savings rate have been booming in the same period. Special attention is given to Brazil, which has fallen far behind its BRIC peers in this matter. The paper contributes to the existing literature in several ways. It combines two different and comprehensive datasets to encompass a vast array of savings determinants, including social security and demographic factors. It restates previous findings in the literature, albeit benefiting from the robustness conferred by richer datasets. For some Latin American countries, it reveals that their savings rate would increase if they perform more like East Asian countries in other areas, but the increment would not be so dramatic.

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