Unless savers are literally stuffing their excess funds under a mattress, interest is paid on savings precisely because monies saved are lent to others with near-term demands.
On the plus side, the presence of the state has lent a stability and long-term perspective to the investment and growth of the Chinese economy, which is not just reminiscent of the keiretsu in Japan but also the family holdings in the chaebols in Korea.
Under the original Bretton Woods system, Mr McKinnon points out, America borrowed on a short-term basis from Europe, but lent long, making enormous direct investments in the rebuilding of Europe's war-blasted capital stock.
Only a fraction of the three-year money the ECB has lent to banks since December under its Long-Term Refinancing Operations has been channeled to troubled government-bond markets (though it has helped the banks).