Working Paper Revision
Fiscal Policy during a Pandemic
Abstract: I study the effects of the 2020 coronavirus outbreak in the United States and subsequent fiscal policy response in a nonlinear DSGE model. The pandemic is a shock to the utility of contact-intensive services that propagates to other sectors via general equilibrium, triggering a deep recession. I use a calibrated version of the model that matches the path of the US unemployment rate in 2020 to analyze different types of fiscal policies. I find that UI benefits are the most effective tool to stabilize income for borrowers, who are the hardest hit, while liquidity assistance programs are effective if the policy objective is to stabilize employment in the affected sector. I also study the effects of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act of 2020.
Keywords: fiscal policy; pandemic; COVID-19; CARES Act;
JEL Classification: E6; G01; H0;
https://doi.org/10.20955/wp.2020.006
Status: Published in Journal of Economic Dynamics & Control
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Bibliographic Information
Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Part of Series: Working Papers
Publication Date: 2020-12
Number: 2020-006
Note: Publisher DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jedc.2021.104088
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