From pandemics to portfolios: Long-term impacts of the 2009 H1N1 outbreak on household investment choices

Naijia Guo, Charles Ka Yui Leung and Shumeng Zhang

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2025, vol. 231, issue C

Abstract: This study examines how experiencing a pandemic affects household investment behaviors. By leveraging cross-state variations in the H1N1 mortality rate in 2009, our difference-in-differences analysis reveals interesting findings. Although the pandemic does not significantly affect stock market participation, it depresses the proportion of liquid assets invested in risky assets among households who participate in the stock market. This effect persists for up to eight years after the pandemic and is particularly pronounced among households characterized by higher risk aversion and greater income volatility. Analysis conducted using different datasets consistently suggests that the pandemic primarily influences portfolio choices through a shift in risk attitudes.

Keywords: Pandemic; Portfolio choice; Risky share; Risk attitude (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D10 G11 I10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:231:y:2025:i:c:s0167268125000514

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2025.106931

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