The Impact of COVID-19 on the US Economy: The Multiplier Effects of Tourism

Abstract

This article explores the multiplier effects on domestic product, employment, and the external sector of the US economy due to the decline of tourism activities during the pandemic. For this purpose, we use an input-output model and the latest available input-output data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD’s) database. It was found that for every USD million decrease in tourism receipts, the net output decreases about USD 1.53 million, the level of employment decreases about 16.86 persons, imports decrease about USD 0.20 million, while the comparative analysis of these results with the economy’s average multipliers indicates that tourism constitutes a key sector of the US economy. From the evaluation of the results, it is deduced that the decline of tourism activities recorded in the year 2020 accounts for about one-fourth of the observed recession in the US economy.