COVID-19 economic policy effects on consumer spending and foot traffic in the U.S

Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on economic recovery: role of potential regulatory responses and corporate liquidity

We use a variety of organization-level datasets to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of the nations for the coronavirus epidemic. COVID-19 subsidies appear to have saved a significant number of jobs and maintained economic activity during the first wave of the epidemic, according to conclusions drawn from the experiences of EU member countries. General allocation rules may yield near-optimal outcomes in favor of allocation, as firms with high ecological footprints or zombie firms have lower access to government financing than more favorable, commercially owned, and export-inclination firms. Our assumptions show that the pandemic has a considerable negative impact on firm earnings and the percentage of illiquid and non-profitable businesses. Although they are statistically significant, government wage subsidies have a modest impact on corporate losses compared to the magnitude of the economic shock. Larger enterprises, which receive a lesser proportion of the aid, have more room to increase their trade liabilities or liabilities to linked entities. In contrast, according to our estimations, SMEs stand a greater danger of insolvency.

Is Covid‐19 changing sustainable consumer behavior? A survey of Italian consumers

Since the beginning of 2020, the world has been hit by the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus that causes Covid‐19. To hamper its spread, policymakers of many countries have put in place strong countermeasures, including lockdowns, that have led to significant changes in people's lifestyles and daily routines. This article aims at assessing the changes caused by Covid‐19 in sustainable consumer behavior under multiple perspectives, contributing to advance knowledge at the intersection between consumer dynamics and sustainable consumer behavior literature. A survey was conducted on 1.535 Italian consumers between December 2020 and February 2021. Respondents were asked to assess the extent to which their consumption behavior—purchase frequency, willingness to pay a premium price, sense of moral duty to purchase, social influence to purchase—related to several categories of sustainable products changed due to the pandemic, as well as the extent to which the pandemic impacted on many other aspects, including their environmental awareness, concern, and habits. Results show that Covid‐19 generated relevant changes. Consumers have increased their purchase frequency and willingness to pay for sustainable products, show growing attention to environmental issues, and behave more sustainably. Further, the extent of change is strongly affected by socio‐demographic variables, such as gender, age, income, and education. For instance, women reported a higher shift towards sustainable consumption and behavior than men. Understanding these changes is important to guide marketers and policymakers to respond promptly and effectively to them and to leverage on them to foster a transition towards a more sustainable society.

Financial relief policy and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

In this paper, we investigate the effect of stimulus payments during the COVID-19 pandemic on the social distancing practices of their recipients. While the directed cash payments stipulated by the 2020 CARES Act were intended to mitigate the economic impact of closures imposed in response to the outbreak, we find that this relief may also have inadvertently contributed to the spread of the virus due to increased social activity. We find that, as the payments were sent out on a staggered weekly schedule, there was a corresponding spike in weekend traffic as indicated by a number of mobility metrics that measure social distancing, over and above the usual uptick expected from weekend shopping following receipt of the stimulus payments on Fridays. This preliminary study gives some indication that the economic benefits of the stimulus package may in fact be outweighed by the detrimental effects of looser social distancing practices prolonging the outbreak.