Assessing Nigeria’s economic response to Covid-19

When consumer spending and business activity slowed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Nigeria’s government, like others across the world, deployed policies to provide a more stable economic environment.  

They hiked spending and provided tax relief to boost economic output (fiscal policy). In Nigeria's case, the government is offering a 50% tax refund to companies that do not retrench staff until the end of the year. The monetary authorities also increased available loans and reduced the cost of borrowing to make funds easier for individuals and businesses to access (monetary policy).  And as always there were moves made on the exchange rate as well (exchange rate and balance of payments policy). 

The overall aim is to ensure that on a macro level, economic output is eventually restored to the pre-pandemic level. On a micro level, the goal is to protect individuals and businesses from the effect of the pandemic.