Real interest rates, saving and investment

Abstract

This paper investigates the determinants of real interest rates at world and country level. The starting point is the idea that real interest rates reflect the interaction of desired saving and planned investment, using the framework developed by Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1990) and Barro (1992). The paper updates previous results and extends the analysis to study long real interest rates. We analyse which factors have been responsible for real rate `regime shifts' during 1959 to 1992. We examine the determinants of interest rate differentials across ten major industrialised countries and provide estimates of the extent of capital market integration