Table 1.
COVID Events and Policy Events.
| First COVID Case Date | Lockdown Order Effective Date | First Interest Rate Cut Date | Interest Rate Cut in Basis Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 3/4/2020 | 3/19/2020 | 3/5/2020 | 38−40bp |
| Australia | 1/25/2020 | NA | 3/3/2020 | 25−50bp |
| Canada | 1/28/2020 | NA | 3/4/2020 | 50−125bp |
| China | 1/21/2020 | NA | 2/19/2020 | 10bp |
| Hong Kong | 1/23/2020 | NA | 3/16/2020 | 64bp |
| India | 1/30/2020 | 3/25/2020 | 3/27/2020 | 75bp |
| Italy | 1/31/2020 | 3/9/2020 | NA | NA |
| Singapore | 1/24/2020 | NA | 3/30/2020 | NA |
| Spain | 2/1/2020 | 3/14/2020 | NA | NA |
| Sweden | 2/1/2020 | NA | NA | NA |
| UK | 1/31/2020 | 3/23/2020 | NA | NA |
| US | 1/23/2020 | NA | 3/3/2020 | 100bp |
Notes: The data are pulled from multiple public data sources which might not always agree. NA indicates that the corresponding country has not implemented a nationwide lockdown/stay-at-home policy, or an interest rate cut policy. If a country has experienced multiple interest rate cuts, the date is based on the first interest rate cut. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) manages monetary policy through exchange rate settings, rather than interest rates. The monetary policy easing was implemented as setting a zero percent per annum rate of appreciation of the policy band starting at the prevailing level of the S$NEER and keeping the width of the policy band unchanged.