How Coronavirus Stimulus Packages Compare

The U.S. has passed a third stimulus bill Monday night and an international comparison shows that it has been high time. According to an analysis by think tank Bruegel, the U.S. is the country currently offering a much lower level of coronavirus financial aid and stimulus than other developed nations. The bill's $900 billion in aid will up the level of stimulus from previously 14 percent (of 2019 GDP) to approximately 18 percent.

While that will still leave the U.S. at the lower end of the comparison, the country's share of immediate fiscal impulse is higher than elsewhere. Since cash checks for citizens are once again included in the new bill, the high level of immediate spending will likely remain the same after the new bill is entered into the Bruegel calculation, which has last been update on Nov 24, 2020.

April's checks for $1,200 to all Americans in a certain income bracket came to US$600 billion, the biggest single item in the entire stimulus package, which consisted of almost $2 trillion in direct stimulus and $560 billion each in deferrals (of payroll tax and student loans) and in liquidity/guarantee measures.