In 1975, interest rates were 7.85 % and the rate of inflation was 12.3 % in the United States. What was the real interest rate in 1975? How would the purchasing power of your savings have changed over the year? (Note: Be careful not to round any intermediate steps less than six decimal places.)

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Alvin Hendrix

26 July, 10:53

In 1975, interest rates were 7.85 % and the rate of inflation was 12.3 % in the United States. What was the real interest rate in 1975? How would the purchasing power of your savings have changed over the year? (Note: Be careful not to round any intermediate steps less than six decimal places.)

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Answers (1)

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Moshe Petty · Answer 1

Since the real rate of interest is negative, this means that the purchasing power of the savings have decreased over the year.

Explanation:

Data provided:

Interest rates = 7.85 %

The rate of inflation = 12.3 %

Now,

The Real interest rate is calculated as:

Real interest rate = Nominal interest rate - Inflation rate

on substituting the respective values, we get

Real interest rate = 7.85% - 12.3%

Or

The real interest rate = - 4.45%

Here,

Since the real rate of interest is negative, this means that the purchasing power of the savings have decreased over the year.