G-20 Countries Have Spent 3.5% of GDP to Fight Pandemic

This amount is higher than the stimulus during the global financial crisis that began in 2008, IMF said.

Zoe Schneeweiss

16 Apr 2020, 09:31 AM IST

G-20 Countries Have Spent 3.5% of GDP to Fight Pandemic

Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, center, speaks during a session at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan. (Photographer: Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool via Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- In response to the pandemic, the Group of 20 economies have provided revenue and spending measures equal to 3.5% of gross domestic product, according to calculations by the International Monetary Fund, which took into account all measures as of April 8. “This amount is higher than the stimulus during the global financial crisis that began in 2008,” the fund said Wednesday in its semi-annual Fiscal Monitor report. It also highlighted “massive packages of public-sector liquidity support, including loans and guarantees” for companies, which in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.K. were above 10% of GDP.