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Demand or Supply? Price Adjustment during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Balleer, Almut

    (RWTH Aachen University)

  • Link, Sebastian

    (Ifo Institute for Economic Research)

  • Menkhoff, Manuel

    (Ifo Institute for Economic Research)

  • Zorn, Peter

    (LMU Munich)

Abstract

We study price-setting behavior in German firm-level survey data to infer the relative importance of supply and demand during the Covid-19 pandemic. Supply and demand forces coexist, but demand shortages dominate in the short run. A reported negative impact of Covid-19 on current business is associated with a rise in the probability to decrease prices up to eleven percentage points. These results imply a role for aggregate demand stabilization policy to buffer the economic consequences of Covid-19 while containing the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Balleer, Almut & Link, Sebastian & Menkhoff, Manuel & Zorn, Peter, 2020. "Demand or Supply? Price Adjustment during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IZA Discussion Papers 13568, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13568
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; demand; supply; producer price setting; fiscal policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • H50 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - General
    • E60 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis

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