Learning Objectives
- Why is the M2 multiplier almost always larger than the M1
multiplier?
- Why are the required reserve ratio, the excess reserve ratio,
and the currency ratio in the denominator of the m1 and
m2 money multipliers?
- Why are the currency, time deposit, and money market mutual
fund ratios in the numerator of the m2 money
multiplier?
Note that m1 is the M1 money multiplier. With a
little bit more work, one can also calculate the M2 money
multiplier (m2). We want to do this because M2 is a
more accurate measure of the money supply than M1, as it is usually
a better indicator of changes in prices, interest rates, inflation,
and, ultimately, aggregate output. (And hence whether you and your
family live in a nice place with a 3D HDTV, three big
refrigerators, etc., or if you live in “a van down by the
river.”)www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nhgfjrKi0o;
www.facebook.com/pages/Living-in-a-van-down-by-the
-river/120550394658234
Recall from
Chapter 3 that M2 = C + D + T + MMF, where T = time
and savings deposits and MMF = money market funds, money market
deposit accounts, and overnight loans. We account for the extra
types of deposits in the same way as we accounted for currency and
excess reserves, by expressing them as ratios against checkable
deposits:
(T/D) = time deposit ratio
(MMF/D) = money market ratio
which leads to the following equation:
m 2 = 1 + ( C / D ) + ( T / D ) + ( M M
F / D ) / [ r r + ( E R / D ) + ( C / D ) ]
Once you calculate m2, multiply it by the change in
MB to calculate the change in the MS, specifically in M2, just as
you did in Exercise 2. Notice that the denominator of the
m2 equation is the same as the m1 equation
but that we have added the time and money market ratios to the
numerator. So M2 is alwaysM2 would equal
m1 iff T = 0 and MMF = 0, which is highly unlikely.
Note: if means if and only if. > m1, ceteris
paribus, which makes sense when you recall that M2 is composed of
M1 plus other forms of money. To verify this, recall that we
calculated m1 as 2.6316 when
Required reserves (rr) = .2
Currency in circulation = $100 million
Deposits = $400 million
Excess reserves = $10 million
We’ll now add time deposits of $900 million and money market
funds of $800 million and calculate M2:
m 2 = 1 + ( C / D ) + ( T / D ) + ( M M
F / D ) / [ r r + ( E R / D ) + ( C / D ) ]
m 2 = 1 + ( 100 / 400 ) + ( 900 / 400 )
+ ( 800 / 400 ) / [ .2 + ( 10 / 400 ) + ( 100 / 400 ) ]
m 2 = 1 + .25 + 2.25 + 2 / ( .2 + .005 +
.25 )
m 2 = 5.5 / .455 = 12.0879
This is quite a bit higher than m1 because time
deposits and money market funds are not subject to reserve
requirements, so they can expand more than checkable deposits
because there is less drag on them during the multiple expansion
process.
Practice calculating the M2 money multiplier on your own in the
exercise.
EXERCISE
- Calculate the M2 money multiplier using the following formula:
M2 = 1 + (C/D) + (T/D) + (MMF/D)/[rr + (ER/D) + (C/D)].
Currency |
Deposits |
Excess Reserves |
Required Reserve Ratio |
Time Deposits |
Money Market Funds |
Answer: M2 |
100 |
100 |
10 |
0.1 |
1,000 |
1,000 |
18.33 |
100 |
100 |
10 |
0.2 |
1,000 |
100 |
10 |
100 |
100 |
10 |
0.2 |
100 |
1,000 |
10 |
1,000 |
100 |
10 |
0.2 |
1,000 |
1,000 |
3.01 |
1,000 |
100 |
50 |
0.2 |
1,000 |
1,000 |
2.90 |
100 |
1,000 |
50 |
0.2 |
1,000 |
1,000 |
8.86 |
100 |
1,000 |
0 |
1 |
1,000 |
1,000 |
2.82 |
100 |
1 |
10 |
0.1 |
1,000 |
1,000 |
19.08 |
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Because M1 is part of M2, M2 is always > M1 (except in the
rare case where time deposits and money market funds = 0, in which
case M1 = M2).
- That fact is reflected in the inclusion of the time deposit and
money market fund ratios in the numerator of the M2 multiplier
equation.
- Moreover, no reserves are required for time and money market
funds, so they will have more multiple expansion than checkable
deposits will.
- The required reserve ratio, the excess reserve ratio, and the
currency ratio appear in the denominator of the m1 and
M2 money multipliers because all three slow the multiple deposit
creation process. The higher the reserve ratios (required and
excess), the smaller the sum available to make loans from a given
deposit. The more cash, the smaller the deposit.
- The currency, time deposit, and money market mutual fund ratios
are in the numerator of the M2 money multiplier because M2 is
composed of currency, checkable deposits, time deposits, and money
market mutual funds.