The latter has offset the large borrowing demands by the US Federal Government, which might otherwise have put more upward pressure on real interest rates. The real interest rate is the rate of interest an investor, saver or lender receives (or expects to receive) after allowing for inflation. Related is the concept of "risk return", which is the rate of return minus the risks as measured against the safest (least-risky) investment available. Real interest rates have been low by historical standards since 2000, due to a combination of factors, including relatively weak demand for loans by corporations, plus strong savings in newly industrializing countries in Asia. Thus if a loan is made at The real interest rate is used in various economic theories to explain such phenomena as If there is a negative real interest rate, it means that the inflation rate is greater than the nominal interest rate. If, for example, an investor were able to lock in a In the case of contracts stated in terms of the nominal interest rate, the real interest rate is known only at the end of the period of the loan, based on the realized inflation rate; this is called the An individual who lends money for repayment at a later point in time expects to be compensated for the On an economy-wide basis, the "real interest rate" in an economy is often considered to be the rate of return on a risk-free investment, such as US Treasury notes, minus an index of inflation, such as the rate of change of the The relation between real and nominal interest rates and the expected inflation rate is given by the If the inflation rate and the nominal interest are relatively low, the Fisher equation can be approximated by If the Negative real interest rates are an important factor in government Carmen M. Reinhart and M. Belen Sbrancia (March 2011) It can be described more formally by the Fisher equation, which states that the real interest rate is approximately the nominal interest rate minus the inflation rate. The real interest rate on short term loans is strongly influenced by the monetary policy of central banks. The real interest rate on longer term bonds tends to be more market driven, and in recent decades, with globalized financial markets, the real interest rates in the industrialized countries have become increasingly correlated. The real return actually gained by a lender is lower if there is a non-zero The expected real interest rate can vary considerably from year to year.