Interest Rates Played a Part in the 1984 U

Essay

Interest rates played a part in the 1984 U.S. presidential debates. Some politicians claimed that interest rates rose over the 1981-1983 period, while others claimed rates fell. Below is a table showing interest rates and annual inflation rates from 1981 to 1983.
$$\begin{array}{l}\begin{array} { c c c } &\text { Interest Rate } & \text { Annual } \\\text { Year } & \text { (annual \%) } & \text { Inflation Rate } \\1981 & 14.03 \% & 10.3 \% \\1982 & 10.69 \% & 6.2 \% \\1983 & 8.63 \% & 3.2 \%\end{array}\\\text { Reconcile these conflictingclaims. }\end{array}$$ $$\begin{array}{l}\begin{array} { c c c } &\text { Interest Rate } & \text { Annual } \\\text { Year } & \text { (annual \%) } & \text { Inflation Rate } \\1981 & 14.03 \% & 10.3 \% \\1982 & 10.69 \% & 6.2 \% \\1983 & 8.63 \% & 3.2 \%\end{array}\\\text { Reconcile these conflictingclaims. }\end{array}$$