How old are you? Between 35 and 69? Then you are more likely to be a saver. As a saver, you might place your money in a bank, or buy a government security, or invest directy or indirectly in a stock or bond. From there your savings could move to a business nearby or somewhere around the world.
Focusing on age, we can observe how money might move among nations. Those with more savers will have a surplus and send it to other countries. Researchers at Goldman Sachs predict that, because of demographics, emerging economies will be the source of more of a future surplus than the developed world.
The Economic Lesson
Economists predict that countries with more savers are more likely to have more money to send to other countries. The result is called a current account surplus. In a 2005 speech, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke provides a clear explanation of what a current account means. He says it can be defined from two perspectives. you can look at imports, exports, and investing and see whether more money is leaving or entering a country. Alternatively, but closely related, you can compare saving and investing see whether the result is negative, which means foreign money was necessary to fund domestic projects.