1. HAS EBOLA INFECTED THE MARKET: A CONTAGIOUS REACTION TO A (MEDIA) HEALTH CARE CRISIS?
- Author
-
Funck, Mary and Gutierrez, Jose
- Subjects
Ebola virus -- Media coverage -- Influence -- Economic aspects ,Epidemics -- Media coverage -- Influence -- Economic aspects ,Stock markets -- Forecasts and trends ,Economic efficiency ,Disease transmission ,Ebola hemorrhagic fever ,Restaurants ,Infection ,Health care reform ,Stock market ,Market trend/market analysis ,Business, general ,Business - Abstract
We examine the impact of Ebola headline news days on media-highlighted stocks. An Ebola news day (negative or positive in nature) is associated with increased trading, higher share volume, higher dollar volume, and increased share turnover. OLS regressions on industry-specific portfolios reveal that airline, restaurant, and cruise ship returns reverse themselves one day after the Ebola news event, a result that is consistent with behavioral overreaction literature. Empirical findings could be used to prepare market participants for analogous epidemics. Keywords: Ebola outbreak; Media attention; Market sentiment; Market efficiency; Return Reversal, JEL Classification: G11; G12; G14; G17 INTRODUCTION In 2014, the world became a captive audience to the events surrounding the Ebola crisis. Media headlines continually broadcasted the status of the [...]
- Published
- 2018