Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics (2022)
Matsuoka Hideaki
By Madeira Carlos
Economía (2021)
Using survey data, I simulate the counterfactual impact of the Chilean policies during the pandemic on household consumption. I find that aggregate consumption would have fallen by 16.7% in the absence of public transfers and a quarantine flexibilization policy. Consumption would still fall by 10.2% with a quarantine flexibilization policy but without public transfers. Overall, with a quarantine flexibilization and all the public transfers combined, household consumption was still 6.2% below its pre-pandemic period. Relative to a scenario with quarantine flexibilization but without income transfers, I find that the income, tax, monetary policy, expenses measures were the most progressive policies and increased total consumption by 2.2%, while the debt deferral and pension withdrawals increased consumption by 0.7% and 1.3%, respectively. The policies' impact is highly heterogeneous, with 21.5% of the households increasing their individual consumption relative to its pre-pandemic level.
Madeira C. (2021) The impact of the Covid pandemic public policies in Chile on consumption. Economía.