Interest Rates

An interest rate is the price a borrower pays for the use of money they do not own, for instance a small company might borrow from a bank to kick start their business, and the return a lender receives for deferring the use of funds, by lending it to the borrower. Interest rates are normally expressed as a percentage rate over the period of one year.

Interest rates targets are also a vital tool of monetary policy and are used to control variables like investment, inflation, and unemployment. Interest rates throughout history have been variously set either by national governments or central banks. For example, the Federal Reserve federal funds rate in the United States has varied between about 0.25% to 19% from 1954 to 2008, while the Bank of England base rate varied between 0.5% and 15% from 1989 to 2009, and Germany experienced rates close to 90% in the 1920s down to about 2% in the 2000s. During an attempt to tackle spiralling hyperinflation in 2007, the Central Bank of Zimbabwe increased interest rates for borrowing to 800%.

Interest rates are the main determinant of investment on a macroeconomic scale. Broadly speaking, if interest rates increase across the board, then investment decreases, causing a fall in national income.

A government institution, usually a central bank, can lend money to financial institutions to influence their interest rates as the main tool of monetary policy. Usually central bank interest rates are lower than commercial interest rates since banks borrow money from the central bank then lend the money at a higher rate to generate most of their profit.

By altering interest rates, the government institution is able to affect the interest rates faced by everyone who wants to borrow money for economic investment. Investment can change rapidly in response to changes in interest rates, affecting national income.

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