This essay discusses the reasons for and implications of the decline in real interest rates around the world over the past several decades. It suggests that the decline in interest rates is largely explicable from trends in saving, growth, and markups. In this environment, greater government...

Hilft die Mietpreisbremse, erschwingliche Wohnungen zu finden? Welche Auswirkungen hat der Mindestlohn? Sind die Handelsbilanzdefizite der USA ein Problem? Was bedeuten negative Zinsen für Europa? Diese griffigen Beispiele machen klar: Volkswirtschaft findet mitten im Leben statt. Das ebenso...

This paper examines the optimal accumulation of capital and the effects of government debt in neoclassical growth models in which firms have market power and therefore charge prices above marginal cost. In this environment, the real interest rate earned by savers is less than the net marginal...