Regional and sectorial impacts of the Covid-19 crisis: Evidence from electronic payments Articles uri icon

publication date

  • December 2021

start page

  • 757

end page

  • 798

issue

  • 3

volume

  • 62

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0022-4146

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1467-9787

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.

subjects

  • Economics

keywords

  • covid-19; portugal; sectorial impacts; transaction data; urban areas