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Public finance in the era of the COVID-19 crisis

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  • Agrawal, David R.
  • Bütikofer, Aline

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis poses new policy challenges and has spurred new research agendas in public economics. In this article, we selectively reflect on how the field of public economics has been shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss several areas where more research is necessary. We highlight major changes and inequalities in the labor market and K-12 education, in addition to discussing how technological change creates new challenges for the taxation of income and consumption. We discuss various policy responses to these challenges and the role of fiscal federalism in the context of worldwide crises. Finally, we summarize the key issues discussed at the 2021 International Institute of Public Finance Congress and the papers published in this special issue.

Suggested Citation

  • Agrawal, David R. & Bütikofer, Aline, 2022. "Public finance in the era of the COVID-19 crisis," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1176, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:1176
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    2. Lucas Rosso & Rodrigo Wagner, 2024. "How much does mobility matter for value-added tax revenue? Cross-country evidence around COVID-19," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(3), pages 841-855, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    public economics; labor economics; education; tax; expenditure; COVID-19; inequality; fiscal federalism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H0 - Public Economics - - General
    • J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General

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