During recent months the behavior of the various monetary aggregates in the United States has been the subject of almost continuous commentary. The most frequent conclusion is that the observed behavior has been dominated by a number ofunique events. First it was alleged that the behavior of M1 was dominated by the "parking" of maturing All-Savers balances in transactions accounts. Next it was alleged that various distortions were occurring as a result of portfolio shifts in anticipation of the introduction of Insured Money Market Accounts. Then Insured Money Market Accounts were introduced in December 1982, and rapid growth of such accounts was observed and cited as a dominating portfolio shift. Finally, Super NOW's introduced in January 1983, have been thrown into the discussion for good measure.
This general concern about the impact of regulatory change on the behavior of the monetary aggregates appears not only in the popular press, but it appears also to have been a persuasive force in the deliberations of the FOMC.
