Skip to main content

Velocity of Circulation

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics
  • 109 Accesses

Abstract

The velocity of circulation of money is V in the identity of exchange

$$ MV\equiv PT $$

which is due to Irving Fisher (1911). On the left-hand side, M is the stock of money capable of ready payment, i.e. currency and demand deposits, or, in modern parlance, M1, on the right, P is the price level and T stands for the volume of trade. PT is usually identified with total transactions at current value, which must be identically equal to total payments. All these variables are aggregates. The identity defines V as PT/M, that is the ratio of a flow of payments to the stock of money that performs them; its dimension is time−1.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 6,499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 8,499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Angell, J.W. 1936. The behaviour of money. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boeschoten, W.J., and M.M.G. Fase. 1984. The volume of payments and the informal economy in the Netherlands 1965–1982, Monetary Monographs no. 1. Amsterdam/Dordrecht: de Nederlandsche Bank/Nijhoff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cramer, J.S. 1981. The volume of transactions and of payments in the United Kingdom, 1968–1977. Oxford Economic Papers 33(2): 234–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cramer, J.S., and G.M. Reekers. 1976. Money demand by sector. Journal of Monetary Economics 2(1): 99–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edie, L.D., and D. Weaver. 1930. Velocity of bank deposits in England. Journal of Political Economy 38: 373–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, I. 1909. A practical method for estimating the velocity of circulation of money. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society 72: 604–611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, I. 1911. The purchasing power of money, 2nd ed, 1922. Reprinted New York: Kelley, 1963.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garvy, G., and M.R. Blyn. 1970. The velocity of money. New York: Federal Reserve Bank, available from Microfilm International, Ann Arbor and London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keynes, J.M. 1930. A treatise on money. London: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laurent, R.D. 1970. Currency transfers by denomination. PhD Dissertation, University of Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, C. 1934. On the statistical relation of trade, credit, and prices. Revue de I’Institut international de Statistique 2: 278–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Copyright information

© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Cramer, J.S. (2018). Velocity of Circulation. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_1354

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics