Industries have different opinions on Coronavirus Aid

Cake counter in a café, various cakes and price board
Picture MICHAEL GAIDA/PIXABAY

While the hospitality industry finds the aid satisfactory, retailers are much more critical.

05/11/2021 · Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Raumwissenschaften · ifo Institut Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung an der Universität München e. V. · News · Forschungsergebnis

The industries particularly affected by the crisis have different assessments of the German government’s coronavirus aid. While the hospitality industry finds it “satisfactory,” retailers are much more critical and weren’t able to file as many aid claims. These are the findings from the latest ifo Business Survey for April 2021. “Aid is at least reaching the hospitality industry,” says economic expert Joachim Ragnitz from the ifo Institute’s Dresden Branch, “which explains the positive assessments here.”

Hospitality companies are particularly positive in their assessments of the November and December aid. About nine out of ten companies surveyed were eligible to apply for it. This aid has also already been paid out in full to over 80 percent of the companies. On a scale of 1 to 6, with 1 being the highest, these companies gave the aid a 2.4. Companies have been able to apply for bridging aid III since February 2021. Of the hotel and catering companies surveyed, 50 percent have already done so.

In retail, however, only about 5 percent of businesses surveyed were eligible to apply for November and December aid, as the majority of retailers did not have to close their doors until just before Christmas. Nevertheless, more than 40 percent of the businesses surveyed felt they needed help. This is reflected in their assessments of the aid: they gave the November and December aid a score of just 4.6 and the subsequent bridging aid III a score of 4.3.

Original Publication

Gillmann, Niels / Nauerth, Jannik A. / Ragnitz, Joachim / Schulze Spüntrup, Selina: Bewertung der Coronahilfen: Wie zufrieden sind die Unternehmen?, in: ifo Schnelldienst digital.

Further information and contact

www.ifo.de