During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments in the euro area sharply increased spending while the European Central Bank eased financing conditions. We use this episode to assess how such a concerted monetary-fiscal stimulus redistributes welfare between various age cohorts. Our assessment involves...

In the United States, massive fiscal expansion during the pandemic protected households and helped to return output and unemployment nearly to pre-pandemic expectations by the end of 2021—a sharp contrast with the slow recovery from the previous US recession. The authors document that many...

Since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008-2009, there has been flourishing literature on the role of fiscal policy in stimulating demand when the economy is in a deep recession. Past studies suggest the stimulus may make sense if it is temporary, targeted, and withdrawn quickly. However, since...