Perspectiveson Low Global Interest Rates

Luis Catão () and George Mackenzie

No 2006/076, IMF Working Papers from International Monetary Fund

Abstract: This paper looks at the dramatic decline in global real interest rates in recent years from a historical perspective and examines the various factors that may account for this trend. We show that current levels of real interest rates on long-term bonds in advanced economies are not low by historical standards and that it is the real long bond rates of the early 1980s through much of the 1990s that look anomalous. We also find that current global long-term interest rates are roughly in line with what one would predict given current price-earnings (P/E) ratios and under reasonable assumptions about the equity risk premia and the expected rate of growth of earnings in advanced countries. Finally, we provide econometric evidence that global long-term interest rates are significantly affected by commodity prices, expected productivity growth, and fiscal consolidation in advanced countries.

Keywords: WP; interest rate; interest rate-investment dynamics; yield gap; World interest rates; global saving; investment; real rate of interest; equity risk premium; estimation result; interest rate variable; oil price inflation; price-earnings ratio; Real interest rates; Long term interest rates; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Stocks; Return on investment; Global (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31
Date: 2006-03-01
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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