Who Bore the Brunt of the Pandemic in Europe? Shifting Private Stress to the Public Sector


Book Description

In Europe, the severe human toll of the COVID-19 pandemic was compounded by the deepest fall in economic activity in modern history. Yet this huge decline in output did surprisingly little damage to the aggregate financial balance sheets of firms and households. This paper discusses how unprecedented policy support transferred private sector income losses to the public sector’s balance sheet and contrasts this experience to that of the global financial crisis.




The Unequal Costs of Covid-19 on Well-being in Europe


Book Description

This volume focuses on the wider wellbeing costs within European countries as a result of the outbreak of the pandemic and the control measures implemented thereafter. In particular, it considers to what extent Covid-19 and measures taken to cope with the crisis have weakened economic and social structures across Europe and what effect this has had on people’s lives. While many countries in Europe have reallocated public funding to health care, provided support to SMEs, vulnerable populations and regions hit by the crisis, the wellbeing or welfare costs, considered broadly, are still significant. The authors' assessment thus goes beyond the subjective wellbeing discourse and evaluates to what extent structural weaknesses within economic, social and regional frameworks have deepened. The chapters discuss what policies are needed to address these weaknesses. the volume thus recognises that structural inequalities are a key driver of wellbeing. While there have been a number of publications on wellbeing during the pandemic, the original perspective in each chapter on inequalities and the European focus of this publication provide novel information and insights on the topic.




The State as Financier of Last Resort


Book Description

During the COVID-19 pandemic and global financial crisis, governments swiftly served as financiers of last resort through large financial support measures (FSMs) such as loan and guarantee programs and equity injections in firms. This Staff Discussion Note argues that such FSMs prevented bankruptcies and attenuated the recession by increasing firms’ liquidity, reducing risk premiums, and boosting confidence. But FSMs also carry large and long-lasting fiscal costs and risks. The note presents recommendations for managing the legacies of the COVID-19 programs and preparing for future crises. Ideally, FSMs should be assessed and included in budget plans, though a balance needs to be struck between speed and scrutiny.




Ireland


Book Description

Ireland’s economy has rebounded strongly from the pandemic. GDP surpassed its pre-pandemic trend in 2021:Q4—one of the few euro area countries to do so. COVID-support measures have been appropriately unwound, and the fiscal position improved significantly. The financial sector weathered the pandemic crisis well and remains resilient. While the outlook is strong, uncertainty is substantial due to the indirect impacts of the war in Ukraine. Several pre-pandemic challenges remain: housing shortages, infrastructure, social and green investment gaps, and the need to strengthen multinational enterprises’ inward linkages to broaden growth and make it more inclusive. There is also a need to address the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) legacy effects on the financial system and tackle the factors contributing to high lending interest rates.




Austria: Selected Issues


Book Description

Selected Issues




Evaluating the Costs of Government Credit Support Programs During COVID-19: International Evidence


Book Description

Advanced economies made available more than 5 trillion USD through government-supported credit guarantee and direct loan programs to provide lifelines to firms in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Notwithstanding the unprecedented scale of credit made available, an in-depth analysis of the fiscal consequences is missing, and the costs of these programs are not recognized in a transparent way. In this paper, we fill in an important aspect of the fiscal picture by estimating the subsidies that were provided by the largest credit guarantee programs introduced in 2020 in seven advanced economies. We estimate the subsidies on a fair value basis that provides a consistent and comprehensive upfront measure of cost. We explain the logic behind applying a fair value framework in a government context and compare it to alternative approaches. For the programs that we examine, total credit extended totaled 1.7 trillion USD. The subsidy element (cash-equivalent subsidy) is estimated to be 67 percent of loan principal on average (37 percent, excluding the US PPP), with a wide range across programs, from 12 to 100 percent. The variation is explained by differences across programs including eligibility criteria, loan terms, compensation to lenders, and other program design choices.




Governance Challenges During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Africa


Book Description

This book presents insights into the governance challenge associated with the management of the lockdown measures in relation to the welfare of citizens in selected African states. The intention of the project is to present a critical analysis of the effectiveness and the consequences of the measures adopted by the government of these African countries to contain further spread of the virus, within the context of existing governance challenges in the management of the public sector. This will expose the contradictions in the implementation of public policy and the actualization of its intendment for the promotion of good governance and the welfare of citizens. The benefit thereof is the feasibility of arousing further intellectual engagements on the need for effective management of public sector with strong infrastructural support for the good of all in Africa.




Regional Economic Outlook, October 2021, Europe


Book Description

Europe Regional Economic Outlook, The European Recovery: Policy Recalibration and Sectoral Reallocation, October 2021




The European Sovereign Debt Crisis


Book Description

The European Sovereign Debt Crisis: Breaking the Vicious Circle between Sovereigns and Banks explains why the euro area’s progress towards reining in the risks arising from the well-documented bi-directional financial contagion transmission mechanism that links sovereigns to commercial banks has been more prominent compared to the channel of contagion moving from banks to sovereigns. Providing an analysis of the legal and regulatory measures that Europe and the euro area have taken to mitigate the exposure of sovereigns to financial crises generated by commercial banks, this book draws attention to areas where improvements to the arsenal of tools hitherto introduced are either desirable or necessary. Chapters further explain – with recourse to economic and legal arguments – why the channel of contagion moving from sovereigns to commercial banks has proven harder to close, and explores ways in which progress could be made in the direction of closing it so as to avert the risk of future banking sector crises. This work provides essential reading for students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in sovereign debt crises and the euro-area banking system.




How the NHS Coped with Covid-19


Book Description

2020 will forever be remembered as the year the Coronavirus pandemic changed life as we know it across the World. Economies crashed, livelihoods were eradicated, and thousands of lives were shortened or devastated by the effects of this novel virus. In the UK, the National Health Service was thrust into the limelight as the country watched our healthcare system respond to the consequences of this disease. This book traces a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting key events in how the UK and the NHS approached these unparalleled events. Comparisons are made with tactics used around the globe and the decisions of our leaders questioned. Alongside the facts, are stories. Every one of us has a ‘Covid story’ to tell, and this book is a collection of some of these stories from our frontline staff. As the country went into rapid lockdown in March, the staff of the NHS donned their PPE and continued to go to work. They tell us what peak pandemic was like in the emergency departments, wards, ICUs, GP practices, care homes and the ambulances of the UK. We hear from a nurse who became a covid patient in her own ICU; staff from the rapidly constructed Nightingale hospital; a GP who returned from retirement to assist with the response; as well as stories from international healthcare professionals such a as a cruise ship nurse in the Caribbean, a public health consultant in Australia and ED doctors in South Africa.