The heterogeneous economic impact of the pandemic across euro area countries

This box reports evidence on the heterogeneous impact of the pandemic on euro area countries. It shows that the different impact on activity was largely due to different containment measures, heterogenous sectoral compositions and institutions. Economies with a larger share of high-contact services sectors were hit the hardest, even when lockdown measures eased over time. All euro area governments implemented fiscal support measures, albeit different in size, to alleviate the health and economic consequences of the pandemic. This led to divergence in public finances in 2020 compared with the pre-crisis period. Looking ahead, the Next Generation EU programme is expected to help reduce the economic divergence observed in the euro area in 2020 and foster a more inclusive recovery. JEL Classification: E6, E21, E32