Although the ratio of real consumption to real employee income has been on a declining trend, it is difficult to imagine that this ratio will continue to decline, so that consumption can be expected to recover in the future. Another debate has focused on concerns about financial imbalances.
After the investment ratio declined distinctly in connection with the first oil price shock in the mid-1970s, interrupted only by the reunification boom in Germany, low investment resurfaced in Germany and other countries as a matter of concern.