Firm-Level Exposure to Epidemic Diseases: Covid-19, SARS, and H1N1

Tarek Hassan, Laurence van Lent (), Stephan Hollander () and Ahmed Tahoun ()
Additional contact information
Laurence van Lent: Tilburg University
Stephan Hollander: Frankfurt School of Finance and Management
Ahmed Tahoun: London Business School

No dp-340, Boston University - Department of Economics - The Institute for Economic Development Working Papers Series from Boston University - Department of Economics

Abstract: Using tools described in our earlier work (Hassan et al., 2019, 2020), we develop textbased measures of the costs, benefits, and risks listed firms in the US and over 80 other countries associate with the spread of Covid-19 and other epidemic diseases. We identify which firms expect to gain or lose from an epidemic disease and which are most affected by the associated uncertainty as a disease spreads in a region or around the world. As Covid-19 spreads globally in the first quarter of 2020, we find that firms’ primary concerns relate to the collapse of demand, increased uncertainty, and disruption in supply chains. Other important concerns relate to capacity reductions, closures, and employee welfare. By contrast, financing concerns are mentioned relatively rarely. We also identify some firms that foresee opportunities in new or disrupted markets due to the spread of the disease. Finally, we find some evidence that firms that have experience with SARS or H1N1 have more positive expectations about their ability to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

Keywords: Epidemic diseases; pandemic; exposure; virus; firms; uncertainty; sentiment; machine learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 G15 I15 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 45 pages
Date: 2020-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-big, nep-cmp and nep-hea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (189)

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https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3566530

Related works:
Working Paper: Firm-Level Exposure to Epidemic Diseases: Covid-19, SARS, and H1N1 (2020)
Working Paper: Firm-Level Exposure to Epidemic Diseases: COVID-19, SARS, and H1N1 (2020)
Working Paper: Firm-Level Exposure to Epidemic Diseases: Covid-19, SARS, and H1N1 (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bos:iedwpr:dp-340

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