{"title":"Can Stimulus Checks Boost an Economy Under Covid-19? Evidence from South Korea","authors":"Moon-Jung Kim, Soohyung Lee","doi":"10.1080/10168737.2020.1864435","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Various countries have implemented transfer programs to individuals since the Covid-19 outbreaks. However, the extent to which such transfers alleviate economic recessions is unclear. This paper analyzes a South Korean program, which provided vouchers redeemable only at small local businesses. We find that, due to the program, over 30% of households across all income groups increased their food and overall household spending, but the usage restriction may have affected consumer choice as well as competition among businesses. While the employment and sales of small businesses improved, the program’s fiscal sustainability is in question because of the large tax exemption.","PeriodicalId":35933,"journal":{"name":"INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC JOURNAL","volume":"35 1","pages":"1 - 12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9000,"publicationDate":"2020-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10168737.2020.1864435","citationCount":"22","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC JOURNAL","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10168737.2020.1864435","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 22
Abstract
ABSTRACT Various countries have implemented transfer programs to individuals since the Covid-19 outbreaks. However, the extent to which such transfers alleviate economic recessions is unclear. This paper analyzes a South Korean program, which provided vouchers redeemable only at small local businesses. We find that, due to the program, over 30% of households across all income groups increased their food and overall household spending, but the usage restriction may have affected consumer choice as well as competition among businesses. While the employment and sales of small businesses improved, the program’s fiscal sustainability is in question because of the large tax exemption.
期刊介绍:
International Economic Journal is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal devoted to publishing high-quality papers and sharing original economics research worldwide. We invite theoretical and empirical papers in the broadly-defined development and international economics areas. Papers in other sub-disciplines of economics (e.g., labor, public, money, macro, industrial organizations, health, environment and history) are also welcome if they contain international or cross-national dimensions in their scope and/or implications.