Yes. It is covered in various books. Galbraith covered it in “Money…”[0] I’m not totally sure you can draw parallels to the old world, though. The modern economy seems so different, but basically, rates seem to follow the course of a civilization. IIRC, Low when things are stable, higher at the edges as things destabilize. It’s been a few years since I read the book, though, and I may be misremembering things.

[0] https://ia800605.us.archive.org/14/items/TheWorldIsFlat/Mone...