Stimulus Package Research Articles

\xd6ffentliche Investitionen im Konjunkturprogramm als Einstieg in die sozial-\xf6kologische Transformation

The economic slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is accompanied by structural change in Germany, driven in particular by the need for digital transformation and decarbonization as well as demographic change. On the one hand, the coronavirus economic stimulus package and the EU recovery fund are responding to the crisis in the short term. On the other hand, the authors criticize a long-standing investment gap and the obstacles to the use of existing funds. The authors discuss what fiscal leeway is available and in which ways and in which areas public investment would have to be made in Germany in order to enable sustainable economic growth.

EU-Asian-American Partnership for a Third Industrial Revolution: Transitioning to High Productivity, Sustainable Infrastructures in the Age of COVID-19.

The COVID‐19 virus has caused a crisis for the world's economy and markets. The World Health Organization has declared the virus to be a global pandemic, meaning that it will have a sustained impact worldwide. In response to the shutdown of economies, governments across the world have implemented fiscal and monetary stimulus packages to counteract the disruption caused by the coronavirus. However, with many countries’ economies already slowing before the pandemic, the measures to combat the virus risk sending many countries into full scale recession for the first time since 2009, according to the European Commission. COVID‐19 has demonstrated the vulnerability of global supply chains and the need for more resilient infrastructures. Yet Europe cannot do this alone. The EU can only achieve this by strengthening ties and increasing trade cooperation with Asia and South America, in alignment with the values of sustainability. Prior to the COVID‐19 crisis, however, the EU has had major public disagreements around trade with both regions, essentially on environmental issues. By prioritising cooperation, the EU can work with developing countries in Asia and South America to take tangible steps towards environmentally sustainable production while boosting economic trade.

Effect of coronavirus fear on the performance of Australian stock returns: Evidence from an event study

Using an event study methodology and a sample of 478 firms listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, we find the following results. First, coronavirus fear significantly and adversely affected the returns of many sectors, small-, medium- and large-sized stocks. Second, coronavirus fear was a source of return drift in the Australian stock market. Our results suggest that investors underreacted to coronavirus fear, and this underreaction was prevalent across a range of sectors and firm size categories. We also find that had investors adopted a short selling strategy for stocks that suffered significant negative effects from the coronavirus fear and post-event return drift, they would have gained profits ranging from 2.14% to 13.81%. Robustness tests based on longer event windows confirm the main results. Additionally, we find evidence of reversals in stock returns mostly following the first stimulus payment in Australia. However, large firms and the information technology sector were the first to experience a reversal in returns a few days following the announcement of the second stimulus package and the commencement of lockdown but before the first stimulus payment was made.

Assessing Renewable Energy Production Capabilities Using DEA Window and Fuzzy TOPSIS Model

Climate change and air pollution are among the key drivers of energy transition worldwide. The adoption of renewable resources can act as a peacemaker and give stability regarding the damaging effects of fossil fuels challenging public health as well as the tension made between countries in global prices of oil and gas. Understanding the potential and capabilities to produce renewable energy resources is a crucial pre-requisite for countries to utilize them and to scale up clean and stable sources of electricity generation. This paper presents a hybrid methodology that combines the data envelopment analysis (DEA) Window model, and fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS) in order to evaluate the capabilities of 42 countries in terms of renewable energy production potential. Based on three inputs (population, total energy consumption, and total renewable energy capacity) and two outputs (gross domestic product and total energy production), DEA window analysis chose the list of potential countries, including Norway, United Kingdom, Kuwait, Australia, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United States, Japan, Colombia, and Italy. Following that, the FTOPSIS model pointed out the top three countries (United States, Japan, and Australia) that have the greatest capabilities in producing renewable energies based on five main criteria, which are available resources, energy security, technological infrastructure, economic stability, and social acceptance. This paper aims to offer an evaluation method for countries to understand their potential of renewable energy production in designing stimulus packages for a cleaner energy future, thereby accelerating sustainable development.

Green economy and the post-coronavirus recovery: A sustainable approach

The COVID-19 has evolved from a widespread public health crisis to a major economic shock. It has posed long-lasting social, business, and environmental repercussions for us. Various governments are working to put in place the enormous size of stimulus packages and recovery plans to create income opportunities and economic growth. It is very important to evaluate the environmental impacts of stimulus packages and recovery plans for sustainable economic growth and build a resilient society. It will not drastically increase the cost of recovery but can provide a safer and sound future for us.

Economic Justification, Russia Business Regulation and Risk Management in Russian Companies: Limited Liability Company "SSK"

Abstract. The Russian government's plan to reduce spending, plan not to extend the stimulus package and have the possibility of raising taxes by 2021 are steps to be taken. One of the objectives of the policy of the Russian Federation is to provide the conditions for complete economic development for all levels of society. This study aims to explain how one company in the Russian Federation in the city of Kazan is related to increasing corporate liquidity and risk management. This study uses quantitative analysis methods with liquidity analysis approaches and corporate risk assessment. The results of this study explain that a company in the Russian Federation in the city of Kazan can develop measures to increase corporate liquidity and risk management. The International Monetary Fund also warned that the Russian government's conservative economic policies could impede an immediate recovery - especially in the context of the second wave of infections that pushed the country's healthcare system to its limits.

Financial and non-financial responses to the Covid-19 pandemic: insights from Portugal and lessons for future

IMPACT This article will help governments, politicians and professional bodies deliberate on how best to respond to future complex crises based on the way Portugal has dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic. It is crucial that governments learn from the pandemic in order to be face future crises as efficiently as possible. ABSTRACT This article analyses the Portuguese government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, discussing the main financial and non-financial measures, the successes and the future challenges. Findings show that Portugal responded rapidly to the pandemic situation with a stimulus package that not only looked at budgetary and fiscal measures, but also considered non-financial measures (regulation and flexibility). The context before Covid-19 was determinant of the capacity to act during this crisis. The article contributes to the literature about the different government responses to the pandemic and the importance of the institutional context to understand and learn from them.

The Economic Impact of COVID-19 on the Omani Tourism Sector

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to cripple the tourism sector globally. The Omani tourism sector is not an exception. However, there are no empirical studies focusing on how Oman’s tourism sector has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to analyze the economic effect of COVID-19 on Oman’s tourism sector. The study sought to achieve three specific objectives, namely, to find out the economic effect of COVID-19 on the number of tourists visiting Oman, to analyze the variations in the amount of tourism into Oman since the COVID-19 became a global health threat and to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies that Oman is implementing to cushion the tourism sector from the economic effects of COVID-19. A secondary data methodology was adopted, which involved collection and analysis of data from already published sources. Inclusion/exclusion criteria of relevance, up-to-date and author credibility were used to select the sources of information to be used. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected and analyzed. Findings from the study revealed that COVID-19 has orchestrated the decline in the performance of Oman’s tourism industry. There has been increased unemployment, reduced incomes and falling consumer purchase power. It is recommended that the Oman government develop and implement policies that reduce tax burden on tourist organizations and give tourist firms stimulus packages to cushion the sector from collapsing due to the effects of COVID-19.

COVID-19 and Ludhiana’s woolen knitwear industry: way forward

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges faced by the Ludhiana’s woolen knitwear industry that got accentuated with the outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The paper discusses the road map for building capabilities within the industry from the perspective of “system of innovation” approach that would help the industry to comply with the recent call for “AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.”Design Methodology ApproachThe woolen knitwear industry from Ludhiana district of North Indian state, Punjab, was taken as a case to examine the impact of COVID-19. Data was collected online through self-structured questionnaire along with telephonic interviews. Stage I was the period of “total lock-down” and Stage II was conducted after the announcement of “stimulus package” and during the unlocking period. Some local industry associations and labor unions were also interviewed to understand the wider perspectives of different stakeholders. Descriptive statistic was applied to analyze the results of the survey.FindingsIt is estimated that the industry would lose about INR 2,000 crores approximately US$282.1m with the monetary loss of man-days nearing INR 157 crores approximately US$22.1m for the total lockdown period of 68 days. This amount is feared to increase with the lackluster re-opening of the industry in the unlocking period. The study reveals that there were some concerns, such as infrastructural bottlenecks, obsolete internal and international connectivity and institutional rigidity with cumbersome rules and regulations that get heightened with the outbreak of COVID-19. The entrepreneurs and workers are skeptic regarding the nature of demand revival in the changing world economic order. The paper suggests a dynamic policy intervention with inbuilt feedback mechanism along with reviving the organizations to infuse enthusiasm among various actors of industry.Originality/valueThe study is one of the first few to conduct surveys at two different stages to assess the impact of COVID-19 from the perspective of micro, small and medium enterprises and workers working therein while taking the case of Ludhiana woolen knitwear industry. The findings of this study will aid the industry and policymakers to take essential steps to make the industry more innovative and competitive in the dynamic world market.

Stimulating economy via fiscal package: The only way out to save vulnerable Workers' lives and livelihood in Covid-19 pandemic.

This paper examines critically the economic package announced by the Indian central government to counter the challenges of lives and livelihood in the Covid‐19 pandemic. This paper estimates the shares of the fiscal economic packages in two phases as per the shares of the vulnerable workers and number of Covid‐19 cases in the Indian states. The recent data on labour market are used from National Sample Survey Organization and data on Covid‐19 cases from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This paper recommends alternatively a fiscal stimulus package of Rs. 10 lakh crores (5% of GDP) with an immediate effect to counter the present problems of health, food and unemployment in the pandemic and should be extended to Rs. 24 lakh crores (12% of Indian GDP) to the Indian states for at least 1 year to protect the lives and livelihood of the most vulnerable, informal and migrant workers. The populous and poor states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have higher share of vulnerable workers and highly industrialized states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and Tamil Nadu have higher number of Covid‐19 cases. Due to the unplanned lockdown in India, there has been a surge in Covid‐19 cases across the country that in turn led to an increase in vulnerable workers in poor states due to reverse migration from industrialized states to populous and poor states during the pandemic. Furthermore, the paper explains the five significant factors that justify the adoption of an expansionary fiscal policy rather than monetary policy.

The Deployment of Fiscal Policy in Several ASEAN Countries in Dampening the Impact of COVID-19


 
 
 The COVID-19 crisis is casting a long shadow over ASEAN and its member states. The number of individuals infected by it is continued to surge daily. COVID-19 has rapidly morphed into unprecedented health, economic and geopolitical crisis. Among the sectors that have practically ground to a halt are the tourism, aviation and travel sectors. This paper attempts to examine the initiatives taken by several ASEAN countries in mitigating the impact of COVID-19. A comparative analysis of the economic stimulus packages of selected ASEAN countries were analysed in order to dampen the effect of COVID-19. To make evident this statement, several evidences are presented in this paper by referring to published data, and information from secondary sources such as scholarly articles and journals, newspapers and data from the web. The findings were also strengthened by connecting those initiatives with a political economy theory of fiscal policy. The study found that the majority of ASEAN countries employ fiscal policy in order to stimulate the economy and encourage full employment.

Forecasting COVID-19 Daily Contraction in Sierra Leone with Implications for Policy Formulation

When the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced COVID-19 to be a global pandemic great chaos was brought to the world economy, with institutions and economies forced to close down in a bid to save lives. While it was a well-known fact that there was no immediate cure for the disease, institutions had no option but to utilise non-traditional means of containing the alarming spread of the virus. All around the world, institutions like the health sector and central banks utilised various forecast models as a way of projecting the scale of the spread of the virus and its overall impact on economic well-being. The findings from the ARIMA (4,1,4) model indicate that there is a likelihood of the virus spreading at a rate of 13 contracted cases per day up to 28th February 2021 and beyond. The key take home from this study shows that institutions, particularly the health sector, must stay alert to ensure measures are continually set in place to curb the likelihood of the virus spreading above and beyond the projected estimate. At the same time, institutional support from the central bank, with its stimulus packages, should continue in a bid to diffuse or allay worries of a possible collapse in the economy.

The COVID-19 outbreak and stock market reactions: Evidence from Australia

We examine how the Australian stock market responded to the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic and whether the stimulus package offered by the Government helped restore confidence in the market. This study finds a negative stock market reaction to the pandemic announcement, however, among two stimulus packages related announcements, the market reacted positively only to “JobKeeper” package. The cross-sectional results suggest that the smallest, least profitable and value portfolios suffered more during the pandemic. Finally, size and liquidity are found to be the significant drivers of abnormal returns.

Asian Voices on the Future of US-Asia Relations: Trade and Economic Policy under the Biden Administration

President-elect Joseph Biden faces challenges both at home and abroad in the aftermath of the Trump administration. The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected the United States, with over 23.5 million reported cases by early 2021. Much like many nations under lockdown and reeling from supply disruptions and the chilling effect on demand, the US economy is forecasted to shrink in the near term. It is expected to contract by 4.3% in 2020, with a tentative rebound of 3.1% growth in 2021. The roll-out of vaccines in the US commenced in late 2020, and it is a welcome precursor of health and economic recovery, but the second stimulus package was delayed. Meanwhile, the Democrats managed to flip two Senate seats in Georgia, and thus maintain a slim control in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Nevertheless, unprecedented political turmoil erupted in Washington, D.C. in early January, prior to the inauguration, signalling a difficult and noisy transition to the next administration. Abroad, the one-two punch of the pandemic and populist wave may continue to push many nations towards protectionism, even as multilateralism has been in retreat even before the pandemic. Part of the populist wave was driven by a push-back against globalization, owing to factors such as its un-equalizing impact as well as valid concerns over dominant lobbying by corporations and weak influence from the labor sector. In Asia, the Trump administration abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement while turning to protectionist rhetoric (and some tentative policies) against trading partners like China, Canada and Mexico. Most of these were short-lived as they amounted to more self-harm than any strategic benefits to the US or key segments of the population like its blue-collar workers. Meanwhile, the other TPP countries moved ahead and form the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) even without the US.Meanwhile, China’s sphere of influence in Asia expanded, as the US withdrawal from its traditional leadership role in the multilateral and regional economic policy discussions was matched by a ratcheting of China’s ambitions to solidify its position as a political, economic and military power. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) was finally signed in November 2020 producing the largest agglomeration of potential consumers (about 2.2 billion people) of any regional trade agreement conceived. And it is seen as the competing China-influenced framework vis-a-vis the TPP which intended as a centerpiece of the US pivot to Asia under President Obama. In addition, China’s ambitious infrastructure plan--the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)--intended to fuel economic integration in the region while inter-connecting it with key markets in Europe and the Americas. Rather than channel all its resources into existing multilateral platforms, China has also advanced alternative financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Silk Road Fund. China’s influence on “writing the rules” for regional economic integration has been increasing, yet it is not clear to what extent these new rules and institutions reflect existing norms in international cooperation.

Financial Regulation and Bank Supervision during a Pandemic

Pandemics lead to a sudden decline in the level of economic activities. Lending institutions reduce credit supply to businesses due to fears of rising bad debts during a pandemic. This paper highlights some approach to financial regulation and bank supervision during a pandemic such as the SARS and COVID-19 pandemic. I show that financial regulation during a pandemic can be enhanced by diversifying the financial system, maintaining adequate liquidity in the financial system, stimulating financial institutions to provide more credit, delaying the recognition of significant increase in credit risk, lowering the reference interest rate to encourage more lending, and providing stimulus packages to affected financial institutions in the economy. I also suggest measures to improve bank supervision during a pandemic which include adopting a flexible supervisory framework, modifying bank supervisory examinations, using ad-hoc stress tests, releasing the countercyclical capital buffer to banks, and increase the use of regulatory forbearance. The implication of these approaches to coping with a pandemic is that these measures can help to ensure the survival of small and large businesses and financial institutions who rely on credit from financial institutions. It can also help to preserve jobs and help to reduce the long term damage to the economy caused by the pandemic.

Does the size of the tourism sector influence the economic policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic?

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented slowdown of economic activity worldwide, with an especially negative impact on the tourism sector. The adoption of international travel restrictions to contain the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak has brought much of the global tourism industry to a virtual standstill. Governments have introduced a range of economic stimulus packages designed to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic, including its impact on travel and tourism. This article investigates whether the size of the tourism sector influences the economic policy response to COVID-19 pandemic using data from 136 countries. The findings show that the larger the tourism sector, the larger the economic stimulus package introduced by governments globally. Furthermore, we find that the size of the tourism sector is positively associated with both fiscal and monetary policy responses to the pandemic. The findings suggest that countries with larger tourism sectors adopted more aggressive economic stimulus packages to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and reinvigorate floundering economies.

Upcoming Industrial Policy in the Post COVID Bangladesh

The COVID-19 pandemic had a considerable adverse impact on the global, regional and national economy. For the first time in several decades, Bangladesh's economy grew by less than 7.5 percent (e.g., 5.2 percent) in terms of GDP during FY 2019-20. Under such dire circumstances, the Government of Bangladesh came up with a "Trillion Taka Package" to keep the economy stable and to compensate for the losses faced by the private sector. The stimulus package would supposedly keep the entrepreneurs competitive in the local and international markets as well. To be specific, low-cost credit facilities were offered to export-oriented garments. Other recipients of the stimulus package included the agricultural sector, cottage, micro, small and medium enterprise (CMSME), low-income groups as well as vulnerable professionals within the limited income group. The first round of the stimulus packages was focused on supplying low-cost credit facilities to make up for the deficit of working capital. However, most health experts are warning about a potential second wave of the pandemic with no mass-produced vaccine in sight for at least the next few months. Given that, the government may have to think of offering a second round of stimulus packages. The second round of stimulus packages should focus on working capital as well as on offering credit for young entrepreneurs, jobless youths, and professionals who had been laid off during the pandemic.The current National Industrial Policy of Bangladesh was enacted in 2016. Hopefully, the next version of the policy will be introduced in 2021. The nation experienced few limitations of the National Industrial Policy 2016 including definitional, classification wise as well as focus relevant shortfalls. Then the COVID-19 crisis gave rise to some new issues and made some aspects of the policy obsolete. Therefore, the next industrial policy should come up with some new dimensions.

Managers View on Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Hotel Industry in Malaysia

2020 is an important year which had been waiting for by the hotel industry in Malaysia. With the exciting slogan “Visit Truly Asia Malaysia,” Malaysia was aimed by many to be one of the most chosen countries to be visited. This simultaneously gives a high hope to the hotel industry to generate more revenues. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the hotel industry landscape tremendously. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the hotel industry in Malaysia. This study employed qualitative method and six hotel representatives were participated in this study. The interview data revealed experiences, voices, and opinions of the hotel informants on the impact of COVID-19. The informants also shared their immediate strategies and long-term plans in coping with the pandemic. In addition, the informants also shared information on the Tourism Stimulus Package offered by the Government that they have received.

Forecasting COVID-19 Daily Contraction in Sierra Leone with Implications for Policy Formulation

When the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced COVID-19 to be a global pandemic great chaos was brought to the world economy, with institutions and economies forced to close down in a bid to save lives. While it was a well-known fact that there was no immediate cure for the disease, institutions had no option but to utilise non-traditional means of containing the alarming spread of the virus. All around the world, institutions like the health sector and central banks utilised various forecast models as a way of projecting the scale of the spread of the virus and its overall impact on economic well-being. The findings from the ARIMA (4,1,4) model indicate that there is a likelihood of the virus spreading at a rate of 13 contracted cases per day up to 28th February 2021 and beyond. The key take home from this study shows that institutions, particularly the health sector, must stay alert to ensure measures are continually set in place to curb the likelihood of the virus spreading above and beyond the projected estimate. At the same time, institutional support from the central bank, with its stimulus packages, should continue in a bid to diffuse or allay worries of a possible collapse in the economy.

Recovery from Covid‐19 towards a low‐carbon economy: a role for accounting technologies in designing, implementing and assessing stimulus packages

AbstractAccounting technologies can be used to help stimulus packages achieve the twin goals of economic stimulus and climate mitigation. Utilising an institutional logic perspective, we show that despite the massive financial consequences of climate change, the current climate response is dominated by the economising logic that justifies limited action. Further, despite its strong potential, accounting technologies are not extensively used in the design of stimulus packages. We develop a framework to explicitly integrate accounting technologies in the design, delivery and review of stimulus packages, thereby simultaneously enabling economic growth and social equity whilst addressing the climate crisis.