WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Monday that if the U.S. is moving to a higher-productivity, higher-growth economy it could imply that interest rates would also be higher, a counter to arguments that an unfolding change in U.S. productive capacity could let the Fed cut interest rates today.

"The more productive and the higher the growth in the economy typically you have higher real interest rates," Waller said at a National Association for Business Economics conference. "More productivity growth typically leads to higher rates of return. That is not a bad thing."