The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Consumption: Learning from High-Frequency Transaction Data

Haiqiang Chen, Wenlan Qian and Qiang Wen

AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2021, vol. 111, 307-11

Abstract: We use daily transaction data in 214 cities to study the impact of COVID-19 on consumption after China's outbreak in late January 2020. Based on difference-in-difference estimation, daily offline consumption—via bank card and mobile Quick Response code transactions—fell by 32 percent, or 18.57 million renminbi (RMB) per city, during the 12-week period. The effect is prevalent across cities and is more pronounced in the dining-and-entertainment and travel categories. We infer that China's offline consumption decreased by over 1.22 trillion RMB, or 1.2 percent of China's 2019 GDP, in the 3-month postoutbreak period.

JEL-codes: D12 E21 O11 O12 P24 P36 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (61)

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DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20211003

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