How has the distribution between consumption and investment evolved?

We look at developments in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Japan. We analyse the evolution of income distribution between investment and consumption (consumption is equal to GDP minus investment and the external surplus, or plus the external deficit). An increase in the weight of consumption relative to investment results from an increase in preference for the present. However, it appears that having a decreasing weight of investment relative to consumption does not lead to faster growth in productivity or GDP. It is probably the improvement in the quality of the investment rather than its size that counts. On the contrary, the energy transition will force a reduction in the preference for the present and an increase in investment relative to consumption, but will not lead to an increase in growth, since capital using fossil fuels will be replaced by capital using renewable energies.