Mainstream economic theory underlines the close relation between saving decisions and
credit supply: the saving decisions determine the credit supply and thus the investment flow
carried out by all firms. This paper has two objectives: 1) to highlight the theoretical limits of
this causal sequence on the basis of the arguments developed by Schumpeter, who instead
maintains that in a capitalist economy the credit supply and investment decisions are
independent of saving decisions; and 2) to show that Schumpeter's analysis provides many …

Mainstream economic theory underlines the close relation between saving decisions and
credit supply: the saving decisions determine the credit supply and thus the investment flow
carried out by all the firms. The objective of this paper is to highlight the theoretical limits of
this causal sequence on the basis of the arguments developed by Schumpeter, who instead
maintains that in a capitalist economy the credit supply and investment decisions are
independent of saving decisions JEL classification code: E21, E22, G20, O10. Key words …