Compared with lower inflation rates, a higher inflation rate will (increase/decrease) the after-tax real interest rate when the government taxes nominal interest income. This tends to (encourage/discourage) saving, thereby (increasing/decreasing) the quantity of investment in the economy and (increasing/decreasing) the economy's long-run growth rate.

Nick receives a portion of his income from his holdings of interest-bearing U.S. government bonds. The bonds offer a real interest rate of 4% per year. The nominal interest rate on the bonds adjusts automatically to account for the inflation rate. The government taxes nominal interest income at a rate of 20%. The following table shows two scenarios: a low-inflation scenario and a high- inflation scenario. Given the real interest rate of 4% per year, find the nominal interest rate on Nick's bonds, the after-tax nominal interest rate, and the after-tax real interest rate under each inflation scenario. Inflation Rate Real Interest Rate Nominal Interest Rate After-Tax Nominal Interest Rate After-Tax Real Interest Rate (Percent) (Percent) (Percent) (Percent) (Percent) 2.5 4.0 8.0 4.0