| 1 | Still, the personal saving rate can be a useful barometer. | |
| 2 | Japan and China have among the highest saving rates in the world. | |
| 3 | For these reasons, it makes sense to use the personal saving rate as a gauge. | |
| 4 | The lack of a social safety net is often blamed for the high Chinese saving rate. | |
| 5 | But Japan' s saving rate has been falling for years, so why did the external surplus still loom large until last year? |