Both private and public investment are still below pre-crisis levels. What should be taken into account, however, is that the pre-crisis investment level does not provide a suitable benchmark owing to earlier indications of overinvestment in the region.
Moreover, the view that weak investment in the region is the more important factor is validated by empirical analysis showing that Asian savings behaviour is well predicted by traditional specifications, but investment behaviour is difficult to explain with the usual factors (WEO 2-2005).