The Impact of an Epidemic Outbreak on Consumer Expenditures:An Empirical Assessment for MERS Korea

Hojin Jung, Minjae Park, Kihoon Hong and Eunjung Hyun
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Hojin Jung: College of Business Administration, Hongik University, 94 Wausan-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul 121-791, Korea
Minjae Park: College of Business Administration, Hongik University, 94 Wausan-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul 121-791, Korea
Kihoon Hong: College of Business Administration, Hongik University, 94 Wausan-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul 121-791, Korea
Eunjung Hyun: College of Business Administration, Hongik University, 94 Wausan-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul 121-791, Korea

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the effect of an epidemic outbreak on consumer expenditures. In light of scanner panel data on consumers’ debit and credit card transactions, we present empirical evidence that outbreaks cause considerable disruption in total consumer expenditures with significant heterogeneity across categories. Our findings strongly imply that customers alter their behaviors to reduce the risk of infection. The estimated effect of an epidemic outbreak is qualitatively different from that of other macroeconomic factors. The implications of this research provide important guidance for policy interventions and marketing decisions aimed at sustaining economic growth.

Keywords: epidemic outbreak; sustainable growth; consumption expenditures; channel distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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