MONEY SUPPLY: Measurement Tools

Posted on November 21, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd

BASIC DEFINITIONS

***

***

Money supply measures—M0, M1, M2, and M3—are essential tools used by economists and policymakers to assess liquidity, guide monetary policy, and understand economic health. Each measure reflects a different level of liquidity and plays a unique role in financial analysis.

The money supply refers to the total amount of monetary assets available in an economy at a specific time. It includes various forms of money, ranging from physical currency to more liquid financial instruments. To better understand and manage economic activity, central banks and economists categorize money into different measures based on liquidity: M0, M1, M2, and M3.

M0, also known as the monetary base or base money, includes all physical currency in circulation—coins and paper money—plus reserves held by commercial banks at the central bank. It represents the most liquid form of money and is directly controlled by the central bank through tools like open market operations and reserve requirements.

M1 builds on M0 by adding demand deposits (checking accounts) and other liquid deposits that can be quickly converted into cash. It includes:

  • Physical currency held by the public
  • Traveler’s checks
  • Demand deposits at commercial banks

M1 is a key indicator of immediate spending power in the economy. A rapid increase in M1 can signal rising consumer activity, while a decline may indicate tightening liquidity.

M2 expands further by including near-money assets—those that are not as liquid as M1 but can be converted into cash relatively easily. M2 includes:

  • All components of M1
  • Savings deposits
  • Money market securities
  • Certificates of deposit (under $100,000)

M2 is widely used by economists and the Federal Reserve to gauge intermediate-term economic trends. It reflects both spending and saving behavior, making it a critical tool for forecasting inflation and guiding interest rate decisions.

M3, though no longer published by the Federal Reserve since 2006, includes M2 plus large time deposits, institutional money market funds, and other larger liquid assets. M3 provides a broader view of the money supply, especially useful for analyzing long-term investment trends and credit expansion. Some countries, like the UK and India, still track M3 for macroeconomic planning.

These measures are not just academic—they have real-world implications. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. saw a historic surge in M2 due to stimulus payments and quantitative easing. This expansion raised concerns about future inflation, which materialized in subsequent years. Monitoring money supply helps central banks adjust monetary policy to maintain price stability and support economic growth.

In conclusion, money supply measures offer a layered view of liquidity in the economy, from the most liquid (M0) to broader aggregates (M3).

Understanding these categories helps policymakers, investors, and businesses anticipate economic shifts, manage inflation, and make informed financial decisions.

COMMENTS APPRECIATED

EDUCATION: Books

SPEAKING: Dr. Marcinko will be speaking and lecturing, signing and opining, teaching and preaching, storming and performing at many locations throughout the USA this year! His tour of witty and serious pontifications may be scheduled on a planned or ad-hoc basis; for public or private meetings and gatherings; formally, informally, or over lunch or dinner. All medical societies, financial advisory firms or Broker-Dealers are encouraged to submit an RFP for speaking engagements: CONTACT: Ann Miller RN MHA at MarcinkoAdvisors@outlook.com -OR- http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

Like, Refer and Subscribe

***

***

Filed under: "Ask-an-Advisor", Financial Planning, Funding Basics, Glossary Terms, Investing, Marcinko Associates, Portfolio Management | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

MONEY: Macro-Economic Velocity

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd

BASIC DEFINITIONS

***

***

The velocity of money is a fundamental concept in macroeconomics that measures how quickly money circulates through the economy. It reflects the frequency with which a unit of currency is used to purchase goods and services within a given time period. This metric is crucial for understanding economic activity, inflation, and the effectiveness of monetary policy.

At its core, the velocity of money is calculated using the formula:

Velocity = GDPMoney Supply\text{Velocity} = \frac{\text{GDP}}{\text{Money Supply}}

This equation shows how many times money turns over in the economy to support a given level of economic output. For example, if the GDP is $20 trillion and the money supply (say, M2) is $10 trillion, the velocity is 2—meaning each dollar is used twice in a year to purchase goods and services.

There are different measures of money supply used in this calculation, most commonly M1 and M2. M1 includes the most liquid forms of money, such as cash and checking deposits, while M2 includes M1 plus savings accounts and other near-money assets. The choice of which measure to use depends on the context and the specific economic analysis being conducted.

The velocity of money is influenced by several factors:

  • Consumer and business confidence: When people feel optimistic about the economy, they are more likely to spend rather than save, increasing velocity.
  • Interest rates: Higher interest rates can encourage saving and reduce spending, lowering velocity. Conversely, lower rates can stimulate borrowing and spending.
  • Inflation expectations: If people expect prices to rise, they may spend more quickly, increasing velocity.
  • Technological and structural changes: Innovations in digital payments and shifts in consumer behavior can also affect how quickly money moves.

Historically, the velocity of money has fluctuated with economic cycles. During periods of economic expansion, velocity tends to rise as spending increases. In contrast, during recessions or periods of uncertainty, velocity often falls as consumers and businesses hold onto cash. For instance, during the 2008 financial crisis and the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, velocity dropped sharply due to reduced consumer spending and increased saving.

In recent years, the U.S. has experienced persistently low velocity, even amid significant increases in the money supply. This phenomenon has puzzled economists and raised questions about the effectiveness of monetary policy. Despite aggressive stimulus measures, much of the new money has remained in savings or financial markets rather than circulating through the real economy.

Understanding the velocity of money is essential for policymakers. A low velocity may signal weak demand and justify expansionary fiscal or monetary policies. Conversely, a high velocity could indicate overheating and the need for tightening measures to prevent inflation.

In conclusion, the velocity of money is a dynamic indicator of economic vitality. It helps economists and central banks assess the flow of money, the strength of demand, and the potential for inflation.

While often overlooked by the public, it plays a vital role in shaping economic policy and understanding the broader health of the economy.

COMMENTS APPRECIATED

EDUCATION: Books

SPEAKING: Dr. Marcinko will be speaking and lecturing, signing and opining, teaching and preaching, storming and performing at many locations throughout the USA this year! His tour of witty and serious pontifications may be scheduled on a planned or ad-hoc basis; for public or private meetings and gatherings; formally, informally, or over lunch or dinner. All medical societies, financial advisory firms or Broker-Dealers are encouraged to submit an RFP for speaking engagements: CONTACT: Ann Miller RN MHA at MarcinkoAdvisors@outlook.com -OR- http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

Like, Refer and Subscribe

***

***

Filed under: "Ask-an-Advisor", finance, Financial Planning, Funding Basics, Investing, Marcinko Associates, Portfolio Management, Touring with Marcinko | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

MONETARISM: Financing and Policy

Posted on March 11, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

SPONSOR: http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

***

***

Monetarism is the belief that changes in the money supply are the main determinant of changes in inflation, associated especially with Milton Friedman, an American economist. Cases of hyperinflation have indeed been associated with the rapid printing of money. But when governments adopted monetarist policies in the late 1970s and early 1980s, they found money supply hard to control and also struggled to decide which measure of money supply was best to target. Monetarist policies were abandoned in favor of inflation targeting.

Monetary financing is the direct financing of government spending by the central bank. This happened during the hyperinflation in Germany in 1923 and was thus regarded as anathema for a long period afterwards. As a result, some commentators viewed quantitative easing after the financial crisis of 2007-09 with great suspicion. Technically, however, QE is not monetary financing, because central banks only buy government bonds in the secondary market and because they pay interest on reserves (the money they create).

Monetary policy The use, normally by the central bank, of interest rates and other tools to try to influence the economy. Interest rates are raised when the bank is trying to control inflation and lowered when inflation is low and it is trying to revive the economy. The financial crisis of 2007-09 led central banks to face the zero lower bound. This prompted many of them to use a new tool, quantitative easing, which was designed to bring down long-term rates or bond yields.

Cite: Economist.com

COMMENTS APPRECIATED

Refer and Subscribe

***

***

Filed under: "Advisors Only", "Ask-an-Advisor", Accounting, Glossary Terms, Investing, Marcinko Associates, Taxation | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

MONEY Supply in Circulation

Posted on January 4, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

SPONSOR: http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

***

***

MONEY SUPPLY: The amount of money in circulation. The money supply measures
currently (1985) used by the Federal Reserve System are:


 M 1 – Currency in circulation + demand deposit + other check-type deposits. 35
 M2 – M 1 + savings and small denomination time deposits + overnight repurchase
agreements at commercial banks + overnight Eurodollars + money market mutual
fund shares.
 M3 – M2 + large-denomination time deposits (Jumbo CDs) + term repurchase
agreements.
 M4 – M3 + other liquid assets (such as term Eurodollars, bankers acceptances,
commercial paper, Treasury securities and U.S. Savings Bonds)

COMMENTS APPRECIATED

Like and Subscribe

***

***

Filed under: "Ask-an-Advisor", Accounting, Financial Planning, Funding Basics, Glossary Terms, Investing, Touring with Marcinko | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The M1 and M2 Money Supply

Posted on May 11, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

***

***

DEFINITION: In macro-economics, the money supply (or money stock) refers to the total volume of currency held by the public at a particular point in time. There are several ways to define “money”, but standard measures usually include currency in circulation (i.e. physical cash) and demand deposits (depositors’ easily accessed assets on the books of financial institutions . The Central Bank [FOMC] of a country may use a definition of what constitutes legal tender for its purposes.

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource

***

Though there are a few variations of money supply, most economists tend to focus on M1 and M2. The former takes into account cash and coins in circulation, as well as demand deposits in checking accounts and traveler’s checks. In other words, money that’s either in your hand or can be accessed very easily.

Meanwhile, M2 accounts for everything in M1 and adds savings accounts, money market funds, and certificates of deposit (CDs) below $100,000. It’s money you have access to, but it takes a little extra effort to put this capital to work. It’s M2 money supply that’s raising eyebrows on Wall Street and making history.

***

What’s of interest is what’s happened to M2 money supply over the trailing year. Following a peak of $21.7 trillion in July 2022, M2 has fallen to a fresh reading of $20.81 trillion, as of May 2023. Although the May reading was higher than April and broke a nine-month downtrend, we’ve still witnessed a 4.1% aggregate drop in M2 from its all-time high. 

Considering that M2 enjoyed a historic expansion during the pandemic, it’s certainly possible that a 4.1% decline can be shrugged off as nothing more than money supply reverting back to the mean. But history suggests otherwise.

Though history rarely repeats itself on Wall Street, it often rhymes. We haven’t seen a meaningful year-over-year decline in M2 money supply since the Great Depression in 1933.

***

And so, based on what we’re seeing from M2 money supply, commercial bank lending, and domestic banks tightening their lending standards for C&I loans, the ingredients for a U.S. recession are most definitely there. Stock losses have, historically, been most pronounced in the months that follow the official declaration of a recession by the eight-economist panel of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

However, Wall Street’s performance is largely dependent on your investment time frame. If you’re patient, these and other potentially worrisome money metrics represent nothing more than temporary white noise.

***

COMMENTS APPRECIATED

Thank You

***

***

Filed under: "Ask-an-Advisor", Accounting, CMP Program, Experts Invited, Investing, LifeStyle | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Modern US Monetary System

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

On Modern Monetary Realism

By Rick Kahler MS CFP® ChFC CCIM www.KahlerFinancial.com

In a previous ME-P column I explained why any currency-issuing country, like the US, will never default on its obligations or run out of money with which to purchase goods and services priced in its own currency. Sovereign nations that are currency issuers have no solvency constraints, unlike currency users such as individuals, corporations, and government entities that don’t issue currency.

Why the Government is Not-Like Medical Professionals

On Modern Monetary Realism

To follow up, let’s look at what has become known as Modern Monetary Realism (MMR).  Economist Cullen O. Roche describes it in a 2011 article on his Pragmatic Capitalism website titled “Understanding the Monetary System.”

This theory came into existence in 1971 when President Nixon eliminated the gold standard and allowed the government to print money at will. This was a paradigm shift in our monetary policy that’s gone largely unnoticed for decades by many educators, economists, and politicians.

Guiding MMR Principles

The principles of MMR are:

  • The Federal Reserve works in partnership with the US Treasury to issue currency. All other units of government, private entities, and individuals are users of the currency.
  • The government creates money by minting coins, printing cash, and issuing reserves. The private banking sector creates money by creating loans and bank deposits.
  • The Federal Government cannot “go broke.” It is inaccurate to compare it to households, companies, and local governments, which all are users of money and can go bankrupt.
  • The major constraint on currency issuers (sovereign governments like the US) is inflation. It behooves governments to manage the money supply prudently in order to avoid impoverishing their citizens through devaluing the currency.
  • Floating exchange rates between countries are a necessity to help maintain equilibrium and flexibility in the global economy. Nations that unduly inflate their currency suffer the consequences of devalued currency, shrinking purchasing power, and contracting lifestyles.
  • The debt of a sovereign currency issuer is default-free. The issuer can always meet debt obligations in the currency which it issues.

Cullen O. Roche Speaks

Roche suggests that a functional government supports the country’s financial system in four ways:

  1. The US government was created by the people, for the people. “It exists to further the prosperity of the private sector—not to benefit at its expense.” Roche argues that when government becomes corrupt by obtaining too much power or issuing too much currency that results in high inflation, it then becomes susceptible to a revolt and dissolution.
  2. Government’s role is to be actively involved in regulating and helping to build an infrastructure within which the private sector can generate economic growth. Roche views regulation as not only beneficial, but necessary to temper the inevitable irrationality that can disrupt markets. Still, he emphasizes that it is the private sector, not the public sector, which drives innovation, productivity, and economic growth.
  3. Money, while a creation of law, must be accepted by the private sector while prudently regulated by the federal government, keeping in mind that the purpose of the regulation is to maximize private sector prosperity.
  4. “Because the Federal government is not a business or a household it should not manage its balance sheet for its own benefit,” notes Roche, “but in a way that most benefits the private sector and encourages private sector prosperity, productivity, innovation and growth.”

Assessment

Like me, you may need to re-read this a couple of times to begin to grasp the concepts. Once you throw off the outdated pre-1971 model of the monetary system, understanding the basics of MMR isn’t difficult. Knowing the basics of how our monetary system works will help physicians, and all of us, frame the important issues in the turmoil unfolding in Europe and in our own upcoming elections. 

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

OUR OTHER PRINT BOOKS AND RELATED INFORMATION SOURCES:

Product DetailsProduct DetailsProduct Details

Product Details  Product Details

Product Details

***

Filed under: Funding Basics, Glossary Terms, Health Economics | Tagged: , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Understanding the Money Supply as a Percentage of GDP

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Join Our Mailing List

By Country for our Domestic and International ME-P Readers

By Staff Reporters

There’s a lot of money in the world, but not all of it can be easily defined as “money.” Just where the money is and who has it is a complicated issue. The wad of money in your pocket is one form of money, but the money supply is hardly limited to that. So, where is the money and what exactly is it?

Finding Out

To find out what Broad Money, Money Zero Maturity, the Monetary Base, and Money and Close Substitutes mean, take a look at the graphic for an explanation. You’ll see that there is a lot more to money than you may have realized. The cash you use from day to day is M0, but there are also MB, M1, M2, M3 and more.

What Is Quasi Money?

If you want to measure how much money a country has, there is much more to consider than just how much printed money is within that country. If you think about how much money you have, it’s likely a lot more than just the cash you have on hand. You have bank accounts, checks and other forms of money that factor into how much money you have. The same is true for countries.

By Country

How much money a country can get pretty complicated, but there is a way to figure out each country’s quasi money. No, this doesn’t mean fake money or “sort of” money, like the name may imply. Quasi money may also sound like our paychecks these days, but what it refers to is actually a pretty neat assessment of the money that a country really has.

The money supply of every single country can be measured accurately by looking at a number of different things. To find out exactly what goes into the money that a country has, take a look at the graphic.

How Does Your Country Stack Up?

How does your country compare to other countries in terms of money? The amount of quasi money in each country when measured as a percentage of a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is pretty telling. Check out the graphic to see how your country rates and whether it makes the top 10, the bottom 10 or falls somewhere in the middle. If you know someone from a country on the top or bottom lists, forward the graphic to them and let them know about it. Depending on where their country falls, it may be time to gloat or to pretend not to be jealous.

Where are the top and bottom countries located?

Are they countries that are typically thought of as being rich and poor, or do they come straight out of left field for a sneak attack? There are certainly some countries in there that will surprise you as well as some that won’t. Take a look for yourself and see where the wealth of the world lies.

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthcareFinancialsthePostForcxos

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

Our Other Print Books and Related Information Sources:

Health Dictionary Series: http://www.springerpub.com/Search/marcinko

Practice Management: http://www.springerpub.com/product/9780826105752

Physician Financial Planning: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763745790

Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421

Hospitals: http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439879900

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

Product Details  Product Details

Filed under: Financial Planning | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »