Abstract
December 6, 2020, Opinion: "In the evolution of the U.S. economy over the past four decades, one fact stands out as especially puzzling: the large and fairly steady decline in interest rates. Consider what has happened to three key benchmarks. In September 1981, the 10-year Treasury note yielded over 15 percent. Today, it yields less than 1 percent. Over the same period, the critical short-term rate set by the Federal Reserve, the federal funds rate, has fallen to nearly zero from about 16 percent, and the rate on 30-year mortgages has dropped below 3 percent from over 18 percent. What accounts for this decline, and what does it imply for personal and public decision-making? Some answers are clear, but many more are elusive."
Non-HKS Author Website - N. Gregory Mankiw