Regional and sectorial impacts of the Covid-19 crisis: Evidence from electronic payments
Regional and sectorial impacts of the Covid-19 crisis: Evidence from electronic payments
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ABSTRACT
We use novel and comprehensive monthly data on electronic payments, by municipality and sector, together with cash withdrawals, to study the impact of Covid-19 in Portugal. Our difference-in-differences event study identifies a causal decrease of 17 and 40 percentage points on the year-on-year growth rate of overall purchases in March and April 2020. We document a stronger impact of the crisis in more central and more urban municipalities, due to a combination of the sectorial composition effect of the local economy and the sharper confinement behavioral effect in these locations. We discuss the importance of tourism for the results.
About Author(s)
Susana Peralta
Susana Peralta holds a PhD in Economics from the Université catholique de Louvain, in Belgium. Her research focuses on the economics of multi-layered governments, including tax competition and political economy issues.
Bruno Pessoa Carvalho
Bruno Pessoa Carvalho is a PhD candidate in Economics at Nova SBE. He holds a Research Masters degree from Nova SBE. Bruno is currently a visiting researcher at the Economics department of BI Norwegian Business School, in Oslo. (...)
João Pereira dos Santos
João Pereira dos Santos is a PhD student in Economics at Nova SBE. He recently participated in the Advanced Studies Program of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. He holds a MSc in Economics from Nova SBE and he also studied in the London School of Economics and in Universitat Pompeu Fabra. (...)