The behaviour of the currency-deposit ratio in mainland China

This paper investigates the behaviour of the currency-deposit ratio in mainland China in the light of three theoretically identified factors: income growth, interest rate movements and inflationary expectations. It was found that the unprecedented decline in the currency-deposit ratio is unambiguously determined by a secular growth in income, whilst the role of interest rates and inflationary expectations is at variance across specifications and sample period. However, the observed variation of the currency-deposit ratio attributed primarily to income and secondarily to interest rates make the money multiplier endogenous.