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The Effects of Fiscal Policy on Households during the COVID-19 Pandemic

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  • Bui, Dzung
  • Dräger, Lena
  • Hayo, Bernd
  • Nghiem, Giang

Abstract

In response to the spillovers of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, many governments paid cash transfers to households. We examine the effect of this fiscal policy instrument on households in two emerging economies, Vietnam and Thailand. Our analysis is based representative population surveys conducted in these countries during the pandemic in 2020. We find that government financial support improves consumer sentiment and increases the likelihood of durable spending. Possibly channels through which financial support affects consumer sentiment are creating more optimism about macroeconomic expectations, raising trust in the government's ability to deal with the pandemic's effect on the economy, lowering general concerns about the impacts of the crisis. We also find that the financial support improves individuals' mental health and life satisfaction. Our results suggest that financial support not only helps stimulate the economy but also enhances people's well-being more generally.

Suggested Citation

  • Bui, Dzung & Dräger, Lena & Hayo, Bernd & Nghiem, Giang, 2021. "The Effects of Fiscal Policy on Households during the COVID-19 Pandemic," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242464, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc21:242464
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jappelli, Tullio & Christelis, Dimitris & Georgarakos, Dimitris & Kenny, Geoff, 2020. "The Covid-19 Crisis and Consumption: Survey Evidence from Six EU Countries," CEPR Discussion Papers 15525, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Ezra Karger & Aastha Rajan, 2020. "Heterogeneity in the Marginal Propensity to Consume: Evidence from Covid-19 Stimulus Payments," Working Paper Series WP-2020-15, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, revised 21 Feb 2021.
    3. Christian Bayer & Benjamin Born & Ralph Luetticke & Gernot J Müller, 2023. "The Coronavirus Stimulus Package: How Large is the Transfer Multiplier," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(652), pages 1318-1347.
    4. Olivier Coibion & Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Michael Weber, 2020. "How Did U.S. Consumers Use Their Stimulus Payments?," Working Papers 2020-109, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    5. Sreyoshi Das & Camelia M Kuhnen & Stefan Nagel, 2020. "Socioeconomic Status and Macroeconomic Expectations," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(1), pages 395-432.
    6. Scott R Baker & Robert A Farrokhnia & Steffen Meyer & Michaela Pagel & Constantine Yannelis & Jeffrey Pontiff, 0. "How Does Household Spending Respond to an Epidemic? Consumption during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic," The Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 10(4), pages 834-862.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiscal policy; Cash transfer; Consumer sentiment; Expectations; Government Trust; COVID-19; Thailand; Vietnam;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory

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