The balance of savings and investment in the economy 3. Developments in the economy's external assets and liabilities - Analysis is usually dominated by the foreign trade aspect, so that policy debate tends to focus on trade barriers and exchange rates. This is also typical of recent discussions of the US current account deficit and the surpluses of many other countries, particularly in Asia.
- It is important to examine the current account also from the perspective of savings and investment. Current imbalances in the global economy are largely due to the low level of savings and high level of consumption in some western economies, particularly the USA, and the abundant savings and modest private consumption particularly in several Asian economies.