Graduation Year
2022
Date of Submission
12-2022
Document Type
Campus Only Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Economics
Reader 1
Richard C. K. Burdekin
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2022 Samuel C Harrison
Abstract
This thesis studies the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on relative stock market strength on a regional and overall basis from January through August of 2021 across a panel of 80 countries. Data are measured weekly for numerical growth in cases, deaths and vaccinations, as well as Oxford indices measuring lockdown stringency and government economic support. Building on a previous study, Burdekin and Harrison (2021) found that increased growth in cases throughout 2020 was correlated with worsening relative market strength in each countries’ main stock market index, and markets had mixed responses on a regional basis to levels of lockdown stringency and government economic support. Comparing market reactions in 2020 to 2021, with the inclusion of newly available vaccination data, panel regression analysis indicates that markets in regions with declining growth in death rates benefitted the most in terms of relative market strength. Regional market reactions to growth in vaccinations were mixed, though the vaccine’s ability to significantly limit Covid-19 mortality indirectly boosted market strength through decreasing deaths. Levels of lockdown stringency and economic support produced varied results by region, though notably high stringency weakened markets in Latin America, and high levels of economic support in Western Europe displayed weakening market effects.
Recommended Citation
Harrison, Samuel, "Virus Effects vs. Vaccines and Policy Responses: Relative Market Performance Across 80 Countries during the Covid-19 Pandemic" (2022). CMC Senior Theses. 2827.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/2827
This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.
