Economics defines money supply as the total assets of stock that is accepted as an exchange media at a given time in an economy. Money supply has a standardized representation with three monetary components which has been delineated as M0, M1 and M2.
The M0 component comprises of the currency which is in the hands of the public, the statutory
deposits of the banks held by the central bank and itscash reserves.
This component represents central bank’s monetary
liabilities. The M0 is, thus, generally referred to as the reserve money or monetary base of the economy. The next standard component,
M1 includes the currency that is present outside
the banking system and the transaction currency of the commercial bank current account liabilities. This component may include foreign currency deposits which are needed in domestic transactions.
The M0, M1 and M2 are considered the primary money supply components or monetary
aggregates which satisfy the liquidity criteria. However, there can be other cases where the broader measurements are required.
For example, when there are less liquid financial assets, M3 and M4 components are taken into account.