ERIC Number: ED135672
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1976
Pages: 58
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Germany's Persistent Balance-of-Payments Disequilibrium Revisited. German Studies Notes.
Kindleberger, Charles P.
This essay compares Germany's persistent financial disequilibrium with the balance of payments situation in the United States. Delivered at a Symposium on German Economic Growth and Stability, the author concentrates on Germany's balance of payments surplus and presents U.S. figures mainly as a point of comparison. The material on Germany has been subdivided into four topics: (1) "structural aspects," which is said to include strong post war capital goods demands, high export rates and industry efficiency, all of which are associated with a high propensity for average and marginal savings; (2) "absorption," which is defined as the difference between output and spending; (3) "the level of domestic investment," which the author maintains is lower in Germany than in foreign markets due to a sluggish German response to interest rate changes; and (4) "policy," which the author points out is consistently set in the direction of resisting inflation, regardless of other variables. The conclusion is that well-functioning capital markets and international coordination are necessary to counteract the absorption which presently dominates the current-account balance. Comments on the paper by William P. Travis of Indiana University are presented as are tables, charts, and excerpts from economic literature. (Author/DB)
Descriptors: Banking, Banking Vocabulary, Comparative Analysis, Economic Change, Economic Climate, Economic Factors, Economic Status, Economics, Exports, Financial Policy, Financial Problems, Foreign Countries, International Trade Vocabulary, Problem Solving, Socioeconomic Influences
Institute of German Studies, Ballantine Hall 655, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47401 ($1.00)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: Volkswagen Foundation, Hanover (West Germany).
Authoring Institution: Indiana Univ., Bloomington. Inst. of German Studies.
Identifiers - Location: Germany; United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A