5 
complain that German banks are not able or not willing to 
finance innovation. It is thus a question not only of how 
much but also of where and how. We also hear of funds of 
large industrial concerns held in form of financial investments 
in preference to real investment, of the increasing role of 
financial and real estate business in the activities and 
gainsof large industrial concerns. It would evidently be of 
great interest to go into the question how the practice, 
the attitudes and aims of industrial concerns have developped 
inthe course of the post-war period. How much investment 
was induced by a given flow of retained profits ( taking into 
account a plausible lag ) in the 50s and 60s, and how 
much later, in the 7os and 80s? As a second priority a study 
of household saving is also suggested by the paper; part of 
this saving is institutional. Though it makes no difference 
whether the household invests directly in bonds or whethe 
this is done for him by pension funds etc, but there may 
be effects on the rate of saving. In fact, the low saving 
ratio of recent years in U.S. has been explained by the 
high interest rate which made lower payments into pension 
funds sufficient to secure given future pension rights. 
Consumptioncredits and house building are further elements 
influencing the household saving. 
The subjuct of saving is obviously closely connected with 
income distribution which is therefore very relevant for 
effective demand and employment. To-day the personal distribution 
of income is no less perhaps even more important than the 
functional distribution between wages, profits etc. 
But it is also even more difficult to get information on it 
in fact, there are yawning gaps in our information.