Measuring Instruments in Economics and the Velocity of Money

Economic measurements are generated by complicated systems of measurement involving economic and bureaucratic processes. Whether these measuring instruments produce reliable numbers: ‘facts’ that travel well, depends on the qualities of these systems. Ideas from metrology, and from the philosophy and sociology of science, are used to analyse various attempts to measure the velocity of money ranging from the 17th to the 20th centuries. These historical experiences suggest that numerical facts are likely to travel well in economics when the criteria implied by all three of these disciplinary approaches to measurement are met.[...]