Post-COVID Changes in Household Savings in the Czech Republic and Their Relationship to Monetary Policy

This bachelor’s thesis analyses the development of the gross household saving rate in the Czech Republic between 2018 and 2025. The analysis focuses on how the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic changes influence saving behaviour and verifies the hypothesis of differing saving motives during and after the pandemic. During the pandemic (2020–2021), a significant increase in the gross saving rate can be observed, followed by a moderate decline in the subsequent years (2022–2025), while still exceeding the levels recorded before the pandemic (2018–2019). During the pandemic, inflation remained relatively stable, interest rates were low, and the economy experienced a downturn. In the following years, double-digit inflation, restrictive monetary policy, and persistent consumer pessimism could be observed. The regression analysis confirms a statistically significant negative effect of year-on-year GDP growth as well as the consumer confidence index on the gross saving rate. The questionnaire survey suggests that psychological factors, particularly uncertainty, were present during the pandemic but did not prove to be the main motive for saving. The thesis provides insight into an extraordinary situation and identifies areas requiring deeper research, particularly psychological motivations and potential long-term changes in saving behaviour.