Today, excluding Japan, they still stand at around 4%, above the rate of economic growth. The high level of real interest rates is a reflection of the high returns that can be earned on investments in the emerging countries and the growing risks of a financial nature, which, even though they originate in national markets, affect the whole system.
To an even greater extent, with the money supply constant or even slightly declining in relation to GDP as a consequence of rigorous monetary policies, real interest rates are influenced by the rapid growth in the volume of private and, above all, public sector securities.