When one looks at real economic growth not that funded through wasteful credit expansion one is drawn to the fact that some countries do better than others. Could it be that real incomes in Germany are generating the savings needed for long term growth? One has to ask whether the key to success has something to do with the quality of real consumption. In the UK, which is a member of the EEC and can trade on equal terms with Germany, there is no doubt that the build up of real savings in Germany has been greater than the UK.
These higher real savings have meant greater real investment and competitiveness. It has little to do with interest rates as much as how financial markets and banking in Germany work for industrial investment rather than against it. While David Cameron fritters away at the housing industry in an endless pursuit of phoney growth through consumption by credit expansion and wasting of valuable resources, the Germans are actually saving for the long term. Had Britain not opted for the gamblers approach to growth, it might see some industry want to locate there, but now it seems the profits in Britain are artificially created by credit.