Divisia Indices for Money: An Appraisal of Theory and Practice

Increasing interest has been shown in recent years in index number measures of money which weight the different components within each monetary aggregate. An assessment of Divisia measures of money including an appraisal of the theoretical arguments for the Divisia approach to monetary aggregation is presented. Also the construction of a Divisia index for the United Kingdom is described and the potential relevance of Divisia for the assessment of monetary conditions discussed.