Ratio of Reserves to Monetary Base (R/M0)

The Ratio of Reserves to Monetary Base (R/M0) measures the share of the monetary base accounted for by bank reserves held at the central bank. It provides insight into the composition of the base between reserves and currency in circulation across Latin America and the Caribbean. Published in the Latin Macro Watch of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the indicator helps economists, policymakers, and researchers track liquidity conditions and central-bank balance-sheet structure on a regionally comparable basis.

Coverage

The series spans 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean at annual, monthly, and quarterly frequency, covering the period 1990 to 2026. Values are expressed as a ratio, including average-of-period and end-of-period variants, and can be viewed through transformations such as 3-, 6-, and 12-month moving averages (MA3, MA6, MA12) and month-over-month, quarter-over-quarter, and year-over-year percentage changes (MoM %, QoQ %, YoY %).

Sources

The data are compiled from national monetary authorities and IDB internal calculations based on official figures from institutions including the Central Bank of The Bahamas, Banco Central do Brasil, Banco Central del Ecuador, and Banco de Mexico, ensuring comparable measures of base composition across the region.

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Format	CSV
Language	en
Country	Argentina Bahamas Trinidad & Tobago Belize Costa Rica Dominican Republic Ecuador Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia El Salvador Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Panama Uruguay Venezuela Barbados Paraguay Peru Suriname
Data notes	What does the Ratio of Reserves to Monetary Base (R/M0) measure? It measures the share of the monetary base (M0) accounted for by bank reserves held at the central bank, providing information on how the base is split between reserves and currency in circulation. How many countries and which frequencies and period are covered? The indicator covers 16 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, available at annual, monthly, and quarterly frequency, over the period 1990 to 2026. What units and transformations are available? Values are expressed as a ratio, including average-of-period and end-of-period variants. Transformations include 3-, 6-, and 12-month moving averages (MA3, MA6, MA12) and month-over-month, quarter-over-quarter, and year-over-year percentage changes. Where do the data come from? The data are compiled from national monetary authorities and IDB internal calculations based on official figures from institutions such as the Central Bank of The Bahamas, Banco Central do Brasil, Banco Central del Ecuador, and Banco de Mexico. What is this indicator typically used for? It is used to analyze central-bank liquidity, the structure of the monetary base, and reserve dynamics, helping compare base composition across Latin American and Caribbean economies over time. How do I cite this indicator? Cite it as: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin Macro Watch — "Ratio of Reserves to Monetary Base (R/M0)." data.iadb.org/dataset/latin-macro-watch-dataset.