and uptake of ﬁscal policy support measures on a quarterly basis ( esrb 2020, 2021 ). the measures include loan moratoria, public loans and guarantees, direct grants, and tax deferrals, among others. the reporting has three parts covering the characteristics and volume of measures, their uptake, and qualitative information. data on characteristics of measures like their announced size, end - dates, or eligibility criteria are made publicly available. 2 a recent esrb report shows that covid - related fiscal measures have supported financial stability member states provided broad and swift ﬁscal support after the onset of the pandemic. as of september 2020, european countries covered by the esrb recommendation announced programmes worth over €2, 400 billion, equivalent to more than 14 % of 2019 gdp. the uptake by september 2020 was around €700 billion or roughly 4 % of gdp. moratoria were used most intensively, followed by public loan guarantees. the size and uptake of ﬁscal measures differ signiﬁcantly across countries. the announced size of public loans and guarantees varied between zero and 22 % of member states ’ 2019 gdp. figure 1 in terms of the uptake, the largest variation was found for loan moratoria, ranging between one and 23 % of gdp. countries which were hit harder by the pandemic in terms of their gdp loss in the second quarter of 2020 tended to announce larger programmes and also see greater uptake of these programmes. figure 2 fiscal measures were successful at stabilising credit supply when they were needed the most. between march and september 2020, roughly 35 % of the new credit supplied to non - ﬁnancial corporations either beneﬁted from public guarantees or was issued in the form of public loans. credit supply to small and micro enterprises was particularly elevated at the onset of the pandemic. figure 3 similarly, the sectors that were more affected by the pandemic – like accommodation or arts and entertainment – received more loans than less affected sectors. fiscal measures reﬂect the vulnerability of economies to covid - 19. vulnerability can be measured by a relatively high share of employment in sectors like tourism or leisure activities. countries that are more vulnerable to the pandemic announce more programmes focused on direct grants, which support the solvency of ﬁrms. figure 4 this has positive implications for the sustainability of corporate debt, as the enhanced solvency situation of ﬁrms helps ensuring their via

increased intensity of its use that was so evident in the decades immediately following world war ii. since the more than tenfold increase in crude oil prices between 1972 and 1981, world oil consumption per real dollar equivalent of global gross domestic produce ( gdp ) has declined by approximately one - third. in the united states, between 1945 and 1973, consumption of petroleum products rose at a startling average annual rate of 4 - 1 / 2 percent, well in excess of growth of our real gdp. however, between 1973 and 2004, oil consumption grew in the united states, on average, at only 1 / 2 percent per year, far short of the rise in real gdp. in consequence, the ratio of u. s. oil consumption to gdp fell by half. much of the decline in the ratio of oil use to real gdp in the united states has resulted from growth in the proportion of gdp composed of services, high - tech goods, and other presumably less oil - intensive industries. additionally, part of the decline in this ratio is due to improved energy conservation for a given set of economic activities, including greater home insulation, better gasoline mileage, more efficient machinery, and streamlined production processes. these trends have been ongoing but have likely intensified of late with the sharp, recent increases in oil prices. in japan, which until recently was the world's second largest oil consumer, the growth of demand was also strong before the developments of the 1970s. subsequently, shocked by the increase in prices and without indigenous production to cushion the effects on incomes, japan sharply curtailed the growth of its oil use, reducing the ratio of oil consumption to gdp by about half as well. although the production quotas of opec have been a significant factor in price determination for a third of a century, the story since 1973 has been as much about the power of markets as it has been about power over markets. the incentives to alter oil consumption provided by market prices eventually resolved even the most seemingly insurmountable difficulties posed by inadequate supply outside the opec cartel. many observers feared that the gap projected between supply and demand in the immediate post1973 period would be so large that rationing would be the only practical solution. but the resolution did not occur that way. in the united states, to be sure, mandated fuel - efficiency standards for cars and light trucks induced the slower growth of gasoline demand. some observers argue, however, that, even without government - enforced standards, market forces would have led to increased fuel efficiency