Malta has topped a list of 166 countries when it comes to government's spending on dealing with coronavirus, according to a US study. 

The study - carried out by Columbia University's economics professor Ceyhun Elgin - found Malta has spent around 22% of its GDP trying to keep the economy afloat during the pandemic.

Malta was followed by Japan (20%), Luxembourg and Belgium (both 19%), and the US (14%). 

However, the study results change, depending on certain economic and demographic categories. For example, in the larger European countries, governments are pledging to guarantee new loans to companies impacted by shutdowns. This puts France at the top of the list.

The ranking would also look different if measures beyond spending, such as central bank actions, are considered, the study says.

Elgin says size should not be mistaken for effectiveness, adding that countries are deploying funds in a variety of ways.

"All the different contents in these packages, they might have different multiplier effects, creating different outcomes," he says.

According to IMF figures, countries around the world have earmarked more than four trillion euro to combat the fallout of the COVID19 pandemic. 

The Maltese government has given rescue packages to sectors hit hard by COVID-19, which has decimated sectors of the economy, especially those related to tourism. 

The government will be subsidising private companies in sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak to the tune of €800 per month per employee, with employers agreeing to fork out a further €400 per worker as part of the financial aid package. Among other incentives, employers who were constrained to lay off employees will be eligible for such payment if they re-engage the laid off workers.

Coronavirus shutdowns have put countries around the world into crisis-mode, prompting a massive rescue spending to try to soften the blow from what is expected to be the worst economic contraction since the 1930s.