The effects of Covid-19 related response policies on the performances of technology-driven financial services companies

This study examines the causal connections between COVID-19-related restrictions, economic support measures, and the performance of fintech enterprises with combined Granger causality and Fractional Frequency Flexible Fourier-form Toda-Yamamoto (FFFFTY) causality tests. We find the evidence of unidirectional permanent causality running from Covid-19 related government response stringency and economic supports to the performance of the technology-driven financial services (TDFSC) in most of the countries in the sample, where traditional tests fail. Our findings indicate that these companies seem to be the primary beneficiaries of Covid-19-related policies (restrictions and economic support) implemented by governments to mitigate the negative impacts of the pandemic. © 2023 Elsevier Inc.