The Instability of the Money Demand Function: An I(2) Interpretation

Some studies have suggested that although money and prices appear to be I(2) processes, real money balances are I(1) and this transformation preserves an important long-run relationship between money and prices. In this paper we present evidence indicating that the success of such a nominal-to-real transformation depends upon the particular monetary aggregate under consideration. It turns out that imposing long-run price homogeneity does not remove all I(2) components from a model of aggregate broad UK M4, but it does prove successful in the case of sectoral components of M4. Since recent research on money demand functions finds more stable relationships between sectoral components of M4 and aggregate demand, our analysis seems to point to a direct link between the existence of I(2) components and the stability of different money demand functions.     

The monetary policy strategy of the Bank of England in 2020–21: An assessment

Excessive money creation during the Covid pandemic has resulted in Britain's worst episode of inflation since 1990–91. The backdrop to this failure of monetary policy is the Bank of England's aggregate demand/aggregate supply framework together with the Monetary Policy Committee's neglect of broad money. An alternative way to operate monetary policy is urgently needed. A significantly improved monetary policy outcome could be achieved by shifting from trying to steer the economy using interest rates and quantitative easing or quantitative tightening to reliance on the relative stability of income velocity (the ratio of nominal GDP to broad money) as a means of managing aggregate demand.     

Money demand and the role of monetary indicators in forecasting euro area inflation

This paper examines the stability of money demand and the forecasting performances of a broad monetary aggregate (M3), excess liquidity and excess inflation in predicting euro area inflation. The out-of sample forecasting performances are compared to a widely used alternative, the spread of interest rates. The results indicate that the evolution of M3 is still in line with money demand, even when observations from the economic and financial crisis are included. Both excess measures and the spread are useful for predicting inflation.     

Aggregate vs. disaggregate data analysis—a paradox in the estimation of a money demand function of Japan under the low interest rate policy

We use Japanese aggregate and disaggregate money demand data to show that conflicting inferences can arise. The aggregate data appears to support the contention that there was no stable money demand function. The disaggregate data shows that there was a stable money demand function. Neither was there any indication of the presence of a liquidity trap. Possible sources of discrepancy are explored and the diametrically opposite results between the aggregate and disaggregate analysis are attributed to the neglected heterogeneity among micro units. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a cointegrating relation among aggregate variables when heterogeneous cointegration relations among micro units exist. We also conduct simulation analysis to show that when such conditions are violated, it is possible to observe stable micro relations, but unit root phenomena among macro variables. Moreover, the prediction of aggregate outcomes, using aggregate data, is less accurate than the prediction based on micro equations, and policy evaluation based on aggregate data ignoring heterogeneity in micro units can be grossly misleading. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The demand for M3 in the euro area

In this paper, an empirically stable money demand model for M3 in the euro area is constructed. Starting with a multivariate system, three cointegrating relationships with economic content are found: (i) the spread between the long‐term and the short‐term nominal interest rates, (ii) the long‐term real interest rate, and (iii) a long‐run demand for broad money M3. There is evidence that the determinants of M3 money demand are weakly exogenous with respect to the long‐run parameters. Hence, following a general‐to‐specific modelling approach, a parsimonious conditional error‐correction model for M3 money demand is derived which can be interpreted economically. For the conditional model, long‐run and short‐run parameter stability is extensively tested and not rejected. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exchange rate volatility and demand for money in less developed countries

One implication of currency substitution is that the exchange rate could serve as another determinant of the demand for money. Indeed, many studies have justified this empirically for the majority of countries. If the exchange rate serves as a determinant of the demand for money, exchange rate volatility could also influence money demand. By using annual data from 15 less developed countries and the bounds testing approach, we show that exchange rate volatility has short-run effects on the demand for real M2 monetary aggregate in LDCs. However, in most countries, short-run effects are not sustained.     

The stability of money demand in China: Evidence from the ARDL model

This study examines the demand for broad money (M2) in China using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) cointegration framework. The results based on the bounds testing procedure confirm that a stable, long-run relationship exists between M2 and its determinants: real income, inflation, foreign interest rates and stock prices. Importantly, our results reveal that stock prices have a significant wealth effect on long- and short-run broad money demand; its omission can lead to serious misspecifications in the money demand function (MDF). This finding is consistent with the notion that asset inflation (deflation) has systematic influence on the pattern of monetary aggregates.     

Bayesian counterfactual analysis of the sources of the great moderation

We use counterfactual experiments to investigate the sources of the large volatility reduction in US real GDP growth in the 1980s. Contrary to an existing literature that conducts counterfactual experiments based on classical estimation and point estimates, we consider Bayesian analysis that provides a straightforward measure of estimation uncertainty for the counterfactual quantity of interest. Using Blanchard and Quah's ( 1989 ) structural VAR model of output growth and the unemployment rate, we find strong statistical support for the idea that a counterfactual change in the size of structural shocks alone, with no corresponding change in the propagation of these shocks, would have produced the same overall volatility reduction as what actually occurred. Looking deeper, we find evidence that a counterfactual change in the size of aggregate supply shocks alone would have generated a larger volatility reduction than a counterfactual change in the size of aggregate demand shocks alone. We show that these results are consistent with a standard monetary VAR, for which counterfactual analysis also suggests the importance of shocks in generating the volatility reduction, but with the counterfactual change in monetary shocks alone generating a small reduction in volatility. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

金融发展中的货币需求稳定性研究--基于1994～2005年的协整分析

本文以经济改革和金融发展为背景，从经典货币需求理论分析出发，运用协整检验和误差校正模型对我国货币需求的稳定性问题展开研究。分析结果表明，货币需求、国民收入、利率和通货膨胀率之间存在协整关系；我国货币需求主要受收入因素影响而呈现出长期稳定性特征，长期稳定的货币需求对其即期增长的抑制作用不明显，货币需求函数表现出高收入弹性和低利率弹性，而利率的外生性削弱了货币需求对利率的调节作用；基于VEC模型的短期Granger因果检验，支持货币量、利率和货币政策最终目标之间短期均衡关系的存在。     

Econometric tests of alternative scale variables in money demand in open economies: International evidence from selected OECD countries

The choice of the scale variable in the money demand function is important because of its striking implications on the magnitude and direction of the domestic monetary and fiscal policy effects and effectiveness of international policy coordination. In this study several tests are applied to the money demand functions of Japan, Germany, Canada, France, and Italy in an open economy context to determine the appropriate scale variable for each country. Both narrow and broad definitions of money are used. Income, disposable income, consumption, private spending, and domestic absorption are investigated as contenders for the scale variable. The findings indicate that the scale variable is country-specific, rather than universal, and it is sensitive to the definition of money.     

社会融资规模作为金融宏观调控中介目标的适用性分析

本文采用2002年第1季度至2012年第2季度数据考察了三个备选的金融宏观中介目标——社会融资规模、人民币贷款和广义货币M2。图形直观分析、脉冲响应分析以及协整关系分析三种方法均表明：第一,M2不是一个理想的中介目标。第二,不论从与实体经济还是与物价指数的关系看、从中短期影响还是从长期均衡关系看,社会融资规模在三个中介目标中表现最好,建议我国以社会融资规模作为金融宏观调控的中介目标。第三,实体经济较物价指数更快受到金融宏观调控政策（中介目标变量）的影响。调控发生后,实体经济约5季后正效应达到最大,物价指数约在2至3年间响应达到最大。政策时滞对制定前瞻性的金融宏观政策具有一定指导意义。     

Does Liquidity Matter? Properties of a Divisia Monetary Aggregate in the Euro Area*

This paper builds a quarterly Divisia monetary aggregate for the euro area using area‐wide data over the sample period from 1980 to 2000, finding two main results. First, it is found that the demand for this monetary aggregate has been well behaved and relatively stable over the last two decades. Secondly, the Divisia‐weighed monetary aggregate is found to have interesting information content from a forward‐looking perspective. This lends support to the view that money and – in a broader sense – liquidity services should be assigned an important role in shaping monetary policy in the euro area, although the policy maker is not interested in monetary aggregates per se.     

Divisia加权货币供应量作为货币政策中介目标有效性研究——基于LSTAR模型的实证分析

本文在货币需求函数稳健性为货币政策中介目标有效性标准的假设基础上,结合货币政策传导过程中的非对称性,构建具有非对称性的LSTAR模型。货币政策中介目标的选择有不同统计口径的货币供应量,采用M1、M2和Divisia加权M1、M2时,货币需求函数稳健性具有差异性;利用构建的LSTAR模型,使用M1、M2和测算Divisa加权M1、M2对相应LSTAR模型进行实证分析,发现Divisa加权的货币供应量作为货币政策中介目标比不加权的更为有效,而就货币供应量层次分析,Divisa加权的M2比M1更有效。     

Fiscal and monetary interdependence

Where classical economics integrates the quantity theory of money with the concept of Ricardian equivalence, the tendency of recent macroeconomic presentations is to focus either upon money and inflation or upon taxation and debt. That neglect of classical monetary–fiscal integration is surprising, given an initiative by the International Monetary Fund that set credit, money, and fiscal policy within a single structure. This article places those ‘credit counterparts of broad money’ in the context of the Great Depression and the recent global financial crisis. The upshot is a set of conclusions: that, to counter the prospect of deflation, quantitative easing is a weak policy response; that fiscal deficits are better; and that cuts in taxation are preferable to increased government spending.     

Estimating the demand for money in Canada: Does including an own rate of return matter?

Traditional studies estimating the long-run demand for real money in Canada assume that narrow money, or M1, bears zero interest. However if implicit interest has been paid, such interest should be taken into account in determining the opportunity cost of holding money. Using quarterly data over the period 1961:1–2000:3 we construct and employ a competitive own rate of return variable. Over 1961:1–1982:1, the conventional money demand model which omits an own rate of return performs well. Over the period 1982:2–2000:3, where the degree of competition in the banking industry increased, the conventional money demand model does not perform well, whereas inclusion of the own rate of return yields correct parameter estimates.     

Towards estimating the demand for money in China

The demand for money in China is estimated separately for the periods before and after the economic reform. Besides the traditional transactions demand variable, the expected rate of inflation (as a measure of the opportunity cost of holding money) and the monetization process are also incorporated into the demand function. The preliminary results show that the demand for money in China has changed in response to the institutional changes during the economic reform. Adding the monetization and inflation expectation variables into the money demand function has enhanced significantly its explanatory power.     

Multiple equilibria in two-sector monetary economies: An interplay between preferences and the timing for money

In this paper, we study the occurrence of local indeterminacy in two-sector monetary economies. We consider a general MIUF model with two alternative timings in monetary payments: the Cash-In-Advance timing, in which the cash available to buy goods is money in the consumers’ hands after they leave the bond market but before they enter the goods market, and the Cash-After-the-Market timing, in which agents hold money for transactions after leaving the goods market. We consider three standard specifications of preferences: the additively separable formulation, the Greenwood–Hercovitz–Huffman (GHH) (Greenwood et al., 1988) formulation and the King–Plosser–Rebelo (KPR) (King et al., 1988) formulation. First, we show that for all the three types of preferences, local indeterminacy occurs under the CIA timing with a low enough interest rate elasticity of money demand. Second, we show that with the CAM timing, although determinacy always holds under separable preferences, local indeterminacy can occur with GHH and KPR preferences. We thus prove that compared to aggregate models, two-sector models provide new rooms for local indeterminacy when non-separable standard preferences are considered.     

Empirical Modelling of Money Demand in Periods of Structural Change: The Case of Greece*

This paper examines the behaviour of the demand for money in Greece during 1976Q1 to 2000Q4, a period that witnessed many of the influences that cause money‐demand instability. Two empirical methodologies, vector error correction (VEC) modelling and second‐generation random coefficient (RC) modelling, are used to estimate the demand for money. The coefficients of both the VEC and RC procedures support the hypothesis that the demand for money becomes more responsive to both the own rate of return on money balances and the opportunity cost of holding money because of financial deregulation. In general, both procedures also support the hypothesis that the income elasticity of money demand declines over time as a result of technological improvements in the payments system and the development of money substitutes, which lead to economies of scale in holding money.     

Can central banks run out of ammunition? The role of the money‐equities‐interaction channel in monetary policy

Many authorities claim that central banks ‘have run out of ammunition’, either because the central bank rate has dropped close to the zero lower bound or because of Keynes's liquidity trap. I argue first, that indefinitely large increases in the quantity of money remain possible even with the central bank rate close to zero, and, second, that increases in the quantity of money raise all asset prices, including the prices of quoted equities, not just bond prices. Bonds are an unimportant asset class in modern capitalist economies, relative to corporate equity and real estate. Meanwhile increases in equity prices always boost aggregate demand and output.     

Mortgage default in an estimated model of the U.S. housing market

This paper models the housing sector, mortgages and endogenous default in a DSGE setting with nominal and real rigidities. We use data for the period 1981–2006 to estimate our model using Bayesian techniques. We analyze how an increase in risk in the mortgage market raises the default rate and spreads to the rest of the economy, creating a recession. In our model two shocks are well suited to replicate the subprime crisis and the Great Recession: the mortgage risk shock and the housing demand shock. Next we use our estimated model to evaluate a policy that reduces the principal of underwater mortgages. This policy is successful in stabilizing the mortgage market and makes all agents better off.