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.

Edited by Michael R. Strain and Stan Veuger

Preserving Employer-Employee Links in the COVID-19 Era

Michael R. Strain and Stan Veuger

1. The Value of Job Matches

Ian M. Schmutte

2. Did the Australian JobKeeper Program Save Jobs by Subsidizing Temporary Layoffs?

Jeff Borland and Jennifer Hunt

3. The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy as an Employer-Based Response to the Pandemic: First Steps, Missteps, and Next Steps

Miles Corak

4. Whatever It Takes: Subsidizing Short-Time Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic in France

Xavier Jaravel

5. German Labor Market Policy During and After the COVID-19 Recession

Tom Krebs

6. COVID-19: The Italian Job

Russell Cooper and Immo Schott

7. The Dutch Experience with Job-Preserving Policy During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Roel Beetsma and Raymond Gradus

8. Labor Hoarding and Employment Protection During the COVID-19 Crisis in a Dual Labor Market: Spain

Juan F. Jimeno

9. Policies to Preserve Worker-Firm Links During the Pandemic: Lessons from the UK¿s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Jonathan Cribb and Paul Johnson

10. How Was the US Government Able to Borrow So Much During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Ricardo Reis

About the Authors