Explain how the real interest rate could be negative and how this situation would benefit the borrower
What will be an ideal response?
When people borrow money, they pay a nominal interest rate to the lender. Inflation decreases the real buying power of the payments made to repay the loan. If the inflation rate is greater than the nominal interest rate, then the real interest rate is negative. In this case, the lender actually loses by lending money to the borrower because the quantity of goods and services the lender can buy with the proceeds of the loan has actually decreased.
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