The effects from some of these concerns carry over
from last year, particularly the Volcker Rule’s impact on
the over-the-counter markets (especially the corporate
bond market) as well as longer-term inflationary tail
risk. In particular, we noted last year the long right tail
associated with inflation expectations, when some
respondents believed long-term inflation rates would
rise above 5% in the coming decade. Some respondents
still expect high inflation (4.7% at the 95th
percentile) over the long term. Our base case for
developed-market inflation over the next five years is
for moderately higher inflation in countries with lower
economic slack, though we also recognize a higherthan-
normal chance of very high or low outcomes.
Respondents do not anticipate much movement in
U.S. interest rates over the next year from current
levels, presumably reflecting the rate increases we
observed between May and year-end 2013. Survey
median forecasts over the past several years compared
with realized results tell an interesting story
about the difficulty in forecasting rates. As the figure
shows, respondents underestimated rates in 2009
and overestimated them in 2010 and 2011. In 2012,
respondents believed rates would rise from their
year-end 2011 levels, but they continued to fall to a
low of around 1.5%. In 2013, the expectation was
below 2012, with most participants believing that
rates in 2013 would stay at year-end 2012 levels. The
rate path that materialized, however, saw the 10-year
Treasury rise sharply, ending the year at around 3%.
Consistent with previous years, respondents expect
the 10-year rate to remain near its current level,
though history tells us this is not a sound indicator for
the central tendency of the 10-year rate in 2014.
Countries in the developed world face structural issues
that include deteriorating demographics and entitlement
(public policy pension and health care) reform, according
to responses from many participants. The driver,
they suggest, is an aging population with increasing
health care costs. This powerful demographic force
automatically increases entitlement spending and
exacerbates the budget deficit problem. The debt-todeveloped-
world GDP ratios and inflationary pressure in
the U.S. and Europe will increase as a result