Saving, investment and the current account

The basic data from Taylor (2002a) consist of annual saving and investment rates for each of the 15 countries in the sample. Data were collected for every available year between 1850 and 1992. For some purposes in this book the data were revised and extended up to year 2000, based on the IMF's International Financial Statistics for the entire 1975–2000 period.

1850–1945: The investment rate measure (I/Y)t is the ratio of gross investment It to national income Yt at current local prices; the saving rate (S/Y)t was usually calculated implicitly, via the current account identity, as the investment rate (I/Y)t plus the ratio of the current account CAt to national income: (I/Y)t = It/Yt, (S/Y)t = (It/Yt) + (CAt/Yt). Except as otherwise indicated, these data are taken from Jones and Obstfeld (2001), who revised the standard sources to correct for flows of gold and changes in stocks.

1946–1959: The investment and saving rates are defined as for 1850–1945: saving rates are still calculated residually from the current account. Except as otherwise indicated, these data are taken from Mitchell (1992; 1993; 1995) using his national income and overall current balance series at current prices. The overall current balance series are converted from U.S. dollars using his exchange-rate series as necessary.

1960–1992: Estimates of gross domestic saving, gross domestic investment, and gross domestic saving at current prices from World Bank (1994).