Regional and sectorial impacts of the Covid‐19 crisis: Evidence from electronic payments

• Published in: Journal of regional science Vol. 62; no. 3; pp. 757 - 798
• Main Authors: Carvalho, Bruno P., Peralta, Susana, Pereira dos Santos, João
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishers Inc 01-06-2022; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Composition effects; Consumer spending; COVID-19; Crises; Growth rate; Local economy; Municipalities; Payments; Portugal; sectorial impacts; Tourism; transaction data; urban areas; Portugal; Covid‐19; urban areas; transaction data; Portugal; sectorial impacts
• ISSN: 0022-4146; 1467-9787
• DOI: 10.1111/jors.12575

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.