Governments have responded to the economic impact of the coronavirus with a mix of direct relief—cash payments, tax measures, subsidies—and other financial measures that are harder to value. While the U.S. has been relatively generous in direct measures, by some measures it has lagged behind other economies in the relative size of its effort.
Breugel, a Belgian think tank, notes that the U.S., before enacting an additional $900 billion in measures in late December, had extended direct ”immediate” support worth 9.1% of its 2019 GDP, outpacing 11 European countries. Germany and the U.K. each extended similar support worth 8.3% of output.
When factoring in deferred payments and measures such as loan guarantees, Italy has spent 49% of its GDP and Germany, 40%. With such measures included the U.S. response is equal to 14.3% of last year's economic output, Bruegel estimates.