Panel B: the bars and left axis show that the region's investment in renewable energy {combined light green, purple and red bars) has steadily increased to reach $171 billion in 2015. The dark blue line and right axis show that the region now accounts for half of the world's investment in renewable energy, such as solar and wind. This is because, without consistent increases in real wages backed by rising productivity, such growth can lead to debt accumulation and entail financial vulnerability. Robust investment is critical for sustained income growth, on which consumption ultimately depends. Thus, having a balanced aggregate demand mix is important, and some progress seems to be taking place. In South Asia, where the nominal share of investment is relatively low, investment growth is projected to outpace private consumption growth in the coming years, while in East Asia, particularly in China, where investment rates are relatively high, private consumption growth is projected to outpace investment growth (World Bank, 2018a).