But thereafter, between the trough of the recession in 2001 and the second quarter of this year, real gross domestic product grew at a rather disappointing annual rate of 2-3/4 percent, on average. Although household disposable income and spending increased appreciably over this period, capital spending continued to weaken.
2  BIS Review 50/2005  There are a number of explanations for this unusual pattern of capital flows. Many people attribute it to the desire by Asian countries to keep their exchange rates low in order to maintain competitiveness. I do not wish to argue that this has not been a factor, but I think there is a more important explanation.