IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/imf/imfwpa/2025-064.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Micro-Evidence on the Consumption Impact of Income-Support Policies During COVID-19

Author

Listed:
  • Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov
  • Emiliano Luttini
  • Mr. Luca A Ricci

Abstract

Income-support policies can boost consumption during a catastrophic episode like the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data on Chilean municipalities, we investigate the impact on private consumption of income-support policies, such as lump-sum transfers and withdrawals of funds from the contributors’ mandatory pension accounts. We find that both emergency income and pension withdrawals had statistically significant effects with an estimated average marginal propensity to consume of about 20 percent. Consumption of durable goods is more sensitive to these policies than other goods, especially in the programs’ initial stages. Higher educational attainment and financial leverage, proxying better access to bank credit, are associated with weaker consumption reaction across municipalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov & Emiliano Luttini & Mr. Luca A Ricci, 2025. "Micro-Evidence on the Consumption Impact of Income-Support Policies During COVID-19," IMF Working Papers 2025/064, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2025/064
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=565741
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zeldes, Stephen P, 1989. "Consumption and Liquidity Constraints: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(2), pages 305-346, April.
    2. Claus Thustrup Kreiner & David Dreyer Lassen & Søren Leth-Petersen, 2019. "Liquidity Constraint Tightness and Consumer Responses to Fiscal Stimulus Policy," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 351-379, February.
    3. Ricardo J. Caballero, 1990. "Expenditure on Durable Goods: A Case for Slow Adjustment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(3), pages 727-743.
    4. Chah, Eun Young & Ramey, Valerie A & Starr, Ross M, 1995. "Liquidity Constraints and Intertemporal Consumer Optimization: Theory and Evidence from Durable Goods," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 27(1), pages 272-287, February.
    5. Greg Kaplan & Giovanni L. Violante, 2014. "A Model of the Consumption Response to Fiscal Stimulus Payments," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 82(4), pages 1199-1239, July.
    6. Steven Hamilton & Geoffrey Liu & Tristram Sainsbury, 2023. "Early pension withdrawal as stimulus," Working Papers 2023-02, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    7. Tullio Jappelli & Luigi Pistaferri, 2010. "The Consumption Response to Income Changes," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 2(1), pages 479-506, September.
    8. Carroll, Christopher D & Kimball, Miles S, 1996. "On the Concavity of the Consumption Function," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(4), pages 981-992, July.
    9. Asger Lau Andersen & Emil Toft Hansen & Niels Johannesen & Adam Sheridan, 2022. "Consumer responses to the COVID‐19 crisis: evidence from bank account transaction data," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 124(4), pages 905-929, October.
    10. Raj Chetty & John N Friedman & Michael Stepner & Opportunity Insights Team & Camille Baker & Harvey Barnhard & Matt Bell & Gregory Bruich & Tina Chelidze & Lucas Chu & Westley Cineus & Sebi Devlin-Fol, 2024. "The Economic Impacts of COVID-19: Evidence from a New Public Database Built Using Private Sector Data," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 139(2), pages 829-889.
    11. Olga Fuentes Contreras & Ximena Quintanilla Domínguez & Alexandra Rueda Restrepo & Eugenio Salvo Cifuentes & Diego Herrera Astorga & Maria Fernanda Toledo Badilla, 2021. "Retiro De Fondos De Pensiones: Resultados Y Efectos," Working Papers 67, Superintendencia de Pensiones, revised Jan 2022.
    12. Esther Duflo, 2012. "Women Empowerment and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1051-1079, December.
    13. Peter Ganong & Fiona Greig & Pascal Noel & Daniel M. Sullivan & Joseph Vavra, 2024. "Spending and Job-Finding Impacts of Expanded Unemployment Benefits: Evidence from Administrative Micro Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(9), pages 2898-2939, September.
    14. Mankiw, N. Gregory, 1982. "Hall's consumption hypothesis and durable goods," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 417-425.
    15. Dimitris Christelis & Dimitris Georgarakos & Tullio Jappelli & Luigi Pistaferri & Maarten van Rooij, 2019. "Asymmetric Consumption Effects of Transitory Income Shocks," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(622), pages 2322-2341.
    16. María José Luengo-Prado & Bent E. Sørensen, 2008. "What Can Explain Excess Smoothness and Sensitivity of State-Level Consumption?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(1), pages 65-80, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Orazio P. Attanasio, 1998. "Consumption Demand," NBER Working Papers 6466, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Rong Hai & Dirk Krueger & Andrew Postlewaite, 2020. "On the welfare cost of consumption fluctuations in the presence of memorable goods," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 11(4), pages 1177-1214, November.
    3. J. Anthony Cookson & Erik P. Gilje & Rawley Z. Heimer, 2020. "Shale Shocked: Cash Windfalls and Household Debt Repayment," NBER Working Papers 27782, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Maude Toussaint‐Comeau, 2021. "Liquidity constraints and debts: Implications for the saving behavior of the middle class," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 39(3), pages 479-493, July.
    5. Yunho Cho & James Morley & Aarti Singh, 2024. "Did marginal propensities to consume change with the housing boom and bust?," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(1), pages 174-199, January.
    6. Giovanni L. Violante & Greg Kaplan, 2022. "The Marginal Propensity to Consume in Heterogeneous Agent Models," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 14(1), pages 747-775, August.
    7. Pedro Trivin, 2022. "The wealth-consumption channel: evidence from a panel of Spanish households," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1377-1428, December.
    8. Andreas Fagereng & Martin B. Holm & Gisle J. Natvik, 2021. "MPC Heterogeneity and Household Balance Sheets," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 1-54, October.
    9. Campbell, J.R. & Hercowitz, Zvi, 2018. "Liquidity Constraints of the Middle Class (revision of CentER DP 2015-009)," Discussion Paper 2018-039, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    10. Makridis, Christos A. & Wang, Tao, 2024. "Learning from Friends in a Pandemic: Social networks and the macroeconomic response of consumption," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    11. Apostolos Fasianos & Reamonn Lydon, 2022. "Do households with debt cut back their consumption more? New evidence from the United Kingdom," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(3), pages 737-760, July.
    12. Song, Sang-yoon, 2022. "The heterogeneity of interest-induced MPC: Evidence from mortgage borrowers," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 402-417.
    13. Cameron LAPOINT & Takashi UNAYAMA, 2020. "Winners, Losers, and Near-Rationality: Heterogeneity in the MPC out of a Large Stimulus Tax Rebate," Discussion papers 20067, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    14. Antonio Acconcia & Simone Chinetti & Tullio Jappelli, 2025. "Consumption and Liquidity Shocks," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 11(1), pages 17-29, March.
    15. Eberly, Janice C, 1994. "Adjustment of Consumers' Durables Stocks: Evidence from Automobile Purchases," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(3), pages 403-436, June.
    16. Adrien Auclert, 2019. "Monetary Policy and the Redistribution Channel," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(6), pages 2333-2367, June.
    17. d’Astous, Philippe, 2019. "Responses to an anticipated increase in cash on hand: Evidence from term loan repayments," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    18. Seungjun Baek & Seongeun Kim & Tae-hwan Rhee & Wonmun Shin, 2023. "How effective are universal payments for raising consumption? Evidence from a natural experiment," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(5), pages 2181-2211, November.
    19. Cookson, J. Anthony & Gilje, Erik P. & Heimer, Rawley Z., 2022. "Shale shocked: Cash windfalls and household debt repayment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(3), pages 905-931.
    20. Tullio Jappelli & Luigi Pistaferri, 2025. "Permanent Income Shocks, Target Wealth, and the Wealth Gap," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 17(1), pages 102-125, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2025/064. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Akshay Modi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/imfffus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.