In this paper, we examine the impact of policy actions undertaken by governments during the COVID-19 pandemic on Consumer Price Index (CPI) in five major South Asian nations, namely, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Using panel fixed effects regression with robust standard errors, we show the relative importance of monetary and financial interventions on reducing CPI while fiscal interventions, direct grants and aid are insignificant. Further, delving into nature of policy interventions, our study finds evidence of negative impact of Credit Support, and Healthcare Support on CPI in South Asian nations. While our investigation is preliminary, it provides insights into additional understanding of effectiveness of policy actions on inflation targeting.

在本文中，我们研究了 COVID-19 大流行期间政府采取的政策行动对五个主要南亚国家（即孟加拉国、印度、尼泊尔、巴基斯坦和斯里兰卡）消费者价格指数 (CPI) 的影响。使用具有稳健标准误差的面板固定效应回归，我们显示了货币和金融干预对降低 CPI 的相对重要性，而财政干预、直接赠款和援助微不足道。此外，通过深入研究政策干预的性质，我们的研究发现了信贷支持和医疗保健支持对南亚国家 CPI 产生负面影响的证据。虽然我们的调查是初步的，但它提供了对通货膨胀目标政策行动有效性的额外理解的见解。