The economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic was different
from a typical recession. Governments had intentionally restricted
activity in significant parts of the economy to reduce the in-person
interactions that might spread the virus. As a consequence, businesses
that were productive and profitable in February 2020 were in grave
danger of bankruptcy just weeks later. Recognizing this, governments in
advanced economies provided various types of support to aid business
continuity and preserve worker-firm links. In this volume, we present
preliminary evidence on the efficacy and efficiency of a number of these
fiscal interventions. We do so through a comparative lens, by studying
the different decisions reached by policymakers in eight Organisation of
Economic Co-operation and Development member states: Australia, Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.