Measurement of Monetary Aggregates Across Countries

Abstract

This paper compares the compositions and definitions of monetary aggregates being published by the 30 countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and 10 non-OCED countries. These countries are divided into 5 groups according to the similarity of their monetary aggregates and their membership in the European Union (EU) and/or OECD. The first three groups are countries in the EU who have adopted the European Central Bank's definitions of the monetary aggregates with some variations. Their monetary aggregates are discussed together and presented in one table. The monetary aggregates for the countries in the other two groups are very heterogeneous and each country is discussed separately. The criteria used to classify and define monetary aggregates by individual countries are compared and summarized. Variations among the countries' monetary aggregates resulting from emphasis on different criteria for money definitions are also addressed.