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This time truly is different: The cyclical behaviour of fiscal policy during the Covid-19 crisis

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  • Heimberger, Philipp

Abstract

Fiscal policy was more countercyclical during the Covid-19 crisis than in previous (crisis) episodes. This paper presents empirical evidence in favour of a “this time truly is different” moment based on analysing the cyclical behaviour of fiscal policy for 28 advanced economies over 1995–2021. Discretionary fiscal policy during the Covid-19 crisis (2020–2021) did more to counteract the downturn – especially in the Eurozone –, as we do not find comparable evidence for countercyclicality during the financial crisis or Euro crisis. Automatic fiscal stabilisers, the non-discretionary domain of fiscal policy, significantly contributed to countercyclical stabilisation during the pandemic.

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  • Heimberger, Philipp, 2023. "This time truly is different: The cyclical behaviour of fiscal policy during the Covid-19 crisis," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jmacro:v:76:y:2023:i:c:s0164070423000228
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmacro.2023.103522
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    Cited by:

    1. Aleksandr Arsenev & Philipp Heimberger & Bernhard Schütz, 2024. "Das konjunkturelle Verhalten der Staatsausgaben für Gesundheit und Soziales in Österreich und Deutschland: Wie robust ist die OECD-Methodik?," wiiw Research Reports in German language 25, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    2. Aleksandr Arsenev & Philipp Heimberger & Bernhard Schütz, 2023. "The Cyclical Behaviour of Government Spending for Social Protection: Is the OECD Methodology Robust?," wiiw Working Papers 238, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiscal policy; Covid-19 crisis; Financial crisis; Euro crisis; Automatic stabilisers; Discretionary fiscal policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H61 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Budget; Budget Systems

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