The chart confirms that the model’s predictions track neither the level of the U.S. deficit in
the 1997-2003 period nor its deterioration from previous periods. The columns of contributions
offer some insight into why the model cannot explain the deterioration of the U.S. deficit
in the 1997-2003 period. First, the NFA (gray), government institutions (wavy fuschia lines),
and financial development (purple) variables do pull down the model’s prediction of the current
account balance, but only by about 3 percentage points of GDP; moreover, these variables
change relatively little between 1992-1996 and 1997-2003.