ABSTRACT
We study the effects of COVID-19 wage subsidies offered to Russian SMEs. This programme disbursed over USD400m of monthly grants to cover wage bills to firms in COVID-affected industries under the condition of retaining employment in 2020. In a triple difference design we find no effects of such grants on survival, employment, or profitability of firms in the affected industries by early 2021.
Disclosure statement
The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.