Abstract: The financial deepening theory contains such idea that the higher market-oriented interest rate can mobilize savings, expand investment scale, improve investment efficiency, and promote fair credit, which is wrong in the theoretic logic, nor is verified by practice. The problem of fund shortage is not difficult to solve during the age of credit money. Neither the fully market-oriented interest rate nor the market-oriented interest rate under indirect control can improve the efficiency of credit markets and the efficiency of monetary policy; on the contrary, they would increase financial risks, trigger the financial crisis, and interrupt economic growth. The conclusion that the market-oriented interest rate can optimize investment and consumption structure through curbing investment is not universal. The historical performance of interest rate controls is significantly stronger than the interest rate liberalization. The market economy should adopt the combination of the controlled market interest rate and the statutory interest rate under market constraints.

Key words: interest rate marketization; liberalization of interest rates; interest rate control; financial liberalization