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.