Structural Changes in the U.S. Economy: Demand and Supply Perhaps the most significant structural change relevant to monetary policy is that the real, or inflation-adjusted, rate of interest consistent with full employment and price stability, often referred to as the neutral rate, or r*, appears to have fallen in the United States and abroad from more than 2 percent before the crisis to less than 1 percent today.
Thank you for your attention. 2  BIS Review 79/2010