Sources of Variation in International Real Interest Rates

This paper analyses the effects of inflation on ex-post real interest rates in an international framework. A dynamic factor model is estimated in which real interest rates are influenced by real interest and inflation factors that are common to all the countries, and by country- specific factors. We find that the source of domestic inflation is an important determinant of the effect of inflation on real interest rates. A common inflation factor has a negative effect on ex-post real interest rates lending support to a form of the Mundell-Tobin effect in international real interest rates, and that a country-specific inflation factor tends to have a positive effect.