1887

OECD Working Papers on Fiscal Federalism

This series covers issues related to intergovernmental fiscal relations and local/regional public finance, such as: tax and spending assignment across government levels; intergovernmental grants; fiscal equalization; local and regional public service efficiency; inter-jurisdictional tax competition; and macroeconomic issues such as intergovernmental fiscal management and sub-central fiscal rules. Many of these working papers are outputs of the OECD Network on Fiscal Relations Across Levels of Government. Related working papers on fiscal federalism issues are also published in other OECD working paper series on tax policy, economics, public governance and regional development. An integrated list of key papers produced by the Fiscal Network can be found at http://oe.cd/fiscalnetwork.

(Note: numbers 1, 6 and 8 are available in the OECD Economics Department Working Papers, as numbers 465, 626 and 705.)

English

Could insurance provide an alternative to fiscal support in crisis response?

The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant economic disruptions and revenue losses for business impacted by workplace closure measures aimed at restraining the spread of the virus. Governments provided extensive monetary and fiscal support to address liquidity risks and mitigate the potential for mass insolvencies as few businesses had applicable insurance coverage for these types of losses. This paper examines the fiscal and insurance sector responses to the economic disruptions resulting from COVID-19 workplace closures, the challenges to the availability of insurance coverage for this risk and some of the challenges and risks related to large-scale fiscal support for businesses. It also includes a discussion of the potential contribution of a loss-sharing arrangement between governments and insurance markets for pandemic-related business interruption losses as a means of enhancing the contribution of insurance markets to providing financial protection in the context of future pandemics.

English

Keywords: insurance, fiscal federalism, crisis management
JEL: G22: Financial Economics / Financial Institutions and Services / Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies; H51: Public Economics / National Government Expenditures and Related Policies / Government Expenditures and Health; H12: Public Economics / Structure and Scope of Government / Crisis Management
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