Interest rates are higher than they've been in recent memory. The question is when will they go back down? They may not. The figure going back to 1300 from Schmelzing, Rossi, and Rogoff, shows that while rates have trended down over time, the last decades' decline has been more cyclical than structural and there's a chance rates are now just returning to normal.
![](https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/Screenshot-2023-09-06-at-7.43.32-AM-1024x670.png)
Source: The Centre for Economic Policy Research
Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow her on Twitter here.
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