IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v72y2021icp213-225.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

New evidence on COVID-19 and firm performance

Author

Listed:
  • Ren, Zhaomin
  • Zhang, Xuan
  • Zhang, Zhekai

Abstract

The Chinese equity market plummeted and was roiled in crisis with the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the first quarter of 2020, but it also exhibits great resilience when the pandemic is gradually under control in China. In this study, we try to quantify the influence of regional COVID-19 outbreaks in 31 provinces on the stock returns of local listed firms by using a difference-in-difference framework. To our limited knowledge, we are the first to study provincial equity market performance during the spread of COVID-19. We show that when there is a COVID-19 outbreak in a province, treated firms first underperform by daily lower returns of 0.54% but abruptly regain their value by daily higher returns of 0.76%. Even though strict lockdown restrictions deteriorate economic prosperity, negative effects on firm values are only temporary in a maximum 20-trading-day window. Our results are also robust when subsamples of provinces and companies are considered.

Suggested Citation

  • Ren, Zhaomin & Zhang, Xuan & Zhang, Zhekai, 2021. "New evidence on COVID-19 and firm performance," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 213-225.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:72:y:2021:i:c:p:213-225
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2021.08.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592621001077
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2021.08.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Li Cui & Pamela Kent & Sujin Kim & Shan Li, 2021. "Accounting conservatism and firm performance during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(4), pages 5543-5579, December.
    2. Topcu, Mert & Gulal, Omer Serkan, 2020. "The impact of COVID-19 on emerging stock markets," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).
    3. Lettau, Martin & Ludvigson, Sydney & Greenwald, Dan, 2019. "How the Wealth Was Won: Factor Shares as Market Fundamentals," CEPR Discussion Papers 14200, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Josue Cox & Daniel L. Greenwald & Sydney C. Ludvigson, 2020. "What Explains the COVID-19 Stock Market?," NBER Working Papers 27784, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Zhang, Dayong & Hu, Min & Ji, Qiang, 2020. "Financial markets under the global pandemic of COVID-19," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).
    6. Borgards, Oliver & Czudaj, Robert L. & Hoang, Thi Hong Van, 2021. "Price overreactions in the commodity futures market: An intraday analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic impact," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    7. Padhan, Rakesh & Prabheesh, K.P., 2021. "The economics of COVID-19 pandemic: A survey," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 220-237.
    8. Niels Joachim Gormsen & Ralph S J Koijen & Nikolai Roussanov, 0. "Coronavirus: Impact on Stock Prices and Growth Expectations," The Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 10(4), pages 574-597.
    9. Stephen J. Davis & Dingqian Liu & Xuguang Simon Sheng, 2020. "Stock Prices, Lockdowns, and Economic Activity in the Time of Coronavirus," Working Papers 2020-156, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    10. Ding, Wenzhi & Levine, Ross & Lin, Chen & Xie, Wensi, 2021. "Corporate immunity to the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(2), pages 802-830.
    11. Hu, Shiwei & Zhang, Yuyao, 2021. "COVID-19 pandemic and firm performance: Cross-country evidence," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 365-372.
    12. Corbet, Shaen & Larkin, Charles & Lucey, Brian, 2020. "The contagion effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from gold and cryptocurrencies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    13. Huayu Shen & Mengyao Fu & Hongyu Pan & Zhongfu Yu & Yongquan Chen, 2020. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Firm Performance," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(10), pages 2213-2230, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tram-Anh Nguyen & Phu Ha Nguyen & Hiep Ngoc Luu & Trang Nguyen Ha Cu & Phuong-Anh Nguyen, 2023. "Bank provisioning practice during the pandemic: evidence from the COVID-19 outbreak," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(3), pages 248-260, September.
    2. He, Chengying & Wen, Zhang & Huang, Ke & Ji, Xiaoqin, 2022. "Sudden shock and stock market network structure characteristics: A comparison of past crisis events," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    3. Silva, Thiago Christiano & Wilhelm, Paulo Victor Berri & Tabak, Benjamin Miranda, 2022. "The role of non-critical business and telework propensity in international stock markets during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Liu, Hengxu & Zhao, Wenxi, 2023. "The role of political connections in bad times: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    5. Zengfu Li & Liuhua Feng & Zheng Pan & Hafiz M. Sohail, 2022. "ESG performance and stock prices: evidence from the COVID-19 outbreak in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    6. Ahmad, Wasim & Kutan, Ali M. & Chahal, Rishman Jot Kaur & Kattumuri, Ruth, 2021. "COVID-19 Pandemic and firm-level dynamics in the USA, UK, Europe, and Japan," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    7. Hsu, Bo-Xiang & Chen, Yi-Min, 2024. "Does corporate social responsibility influence performance persistence? A signal extraction approach with evidence from Fortune 500 companies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    8. Yang, Song, 2022. "Are private equity and venture capital helping small and medium-sized enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic? Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1-14.
    9. Saeid Homayoun & Mohammad Ali Bagherpour Velashani & Bashaer Khdhair Abbas Alkhafaji & Siham Jabbar Mezher, 2023. "The Effect of COVID-19 on the Performance of SMEs in Emerging Markets in Iran, Iraq and Jordan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-14, May.
    10. Tomasz Gigol & Katarzyna Kreczmanska-Gigol & Renata Pajewska-Kwasny, 2021. "Socially Responsible Leadership’s Impact on Stakeholder Management, Staff Job Satisfaction and Work Engagement," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 4), pages 775-805.
    11. Dongyang, Zhang, 2021. "Does a green-designed fiscal policy optimal firm innovation scheme on volatility? A firm level evidence in the Post-Covid-19 era," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Padhan, Rakesh & Prabheesh, K.P., 2021. "The economics of COVID-19 pandemic: A survey," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 220-237.
    2. Cakici, Nusret & Zaremba, Adam, 2021. "Who should be afraid of infections? Pandemic exposure and the cross-section of stock returns," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. Zaremba, Adam & Kizys, Renatas & Tzouvanas, Panagiotis & Aharon, David Y. & Demir, Ender, 2021. "The quest for multidimensional financial immunity to the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from international stock markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    4. Emre Cevik & Buket Kirci Altinkeski & Emrah Ismail Cevik & Sel Dibooglu, 2022. "Investor sentiments and stock markets during the COVID-19 pandemic," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 8(1), pages 1-34, December.
    5. Ștefan Cristian Gherghina & Daniel Ștefan Armeanu & Camelia Cătălina Joldeș, 2020. "Stock Market Reactions to COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak: Quantitative Evidence from ARDL Bounds Tests and Granger Causality Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-35, September.
    6. Yarovaya, Larisa & Brzeszczyński, Janusz & Goodell, John W. & Lucey, Brian & Lau, Chi Keung Marco, 2022. "Rethinking financial contagion: Information transmission mechanism during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Manel Youssef & Khaled Mokni & Ahdi Noomen Ajmi, 2021. "Dynamic connectedness between stock markets in the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic: does economic policy uncertainty matter?," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 7(1), pages 1-27, December.
    8. Doruk, Ömer Tuğsal & Konuk, Serhat & Atici, Rümeysa, 2021. "Short-term working allowance and firm risk in the post-COVID-19 period: Novel matching evidence from an emerging market," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    9. Guglielmo Maria Caporale & Woo-Young Kang & Fabio Spagnolo & Nicola Spagnolo, 2022. "The COVID-19 pandemic, policy responses and stock markets in the G20," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 172, pages 77-90.
    10. Prelorentzos, Arsenios-Georgios N. & Konstantakis, Konstantinos N. & Michaelides, Panayotis G. & Xidonas, Panos & Goutte, Stephane & Thomakos, Dimitrios D., 2024. "Introducing the GVAR-GARCH model: Evidence from financial markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    11. Jialei Jiang & Eun-Mi Park & Seong-Taek Park, 2021. "The Impact of the COVID-19 on Economic Sustainability—A Case Study of Fluctuation in Stock Prices for China and South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-17, June.
    12. Bai, Chenjiang & Duan, Yuejiao & Liu, Congya & Qiu, Leiju, 2022. "International taxation sentiment and COVID-19 crisis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    13. Narayan, Paresh Kumar & Devpura, Neluka & Wang, Hua, 2020. "Japanese currency and stock market—What happened during the COVID-19 pandemic?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 191-198.
    14. Ahmad, Wasim & Kutan, Ali M. & Chahal, Rishman Jot Kaur & Kattumuri, Ruth, 2021. "COVID-19 Pandemic and firm-level dynamics in the USA, UK, Europe, and Japan," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    15. Michal Bernardelli & Zbigniew Korzeb & Pawel Niedziolka, 2021. "The banking sector as the absorber of the COVID-19 crisis’ economic consequences: perception of WSE investors," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 12(2), pages 335-374, June.
    16. Papadamou, Stephanos & Fassas, Athanasios P. & Kenourgios, Dimitris & Dimitriou, Dimitrios, 2023. "Effects of the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic on implied stock market volatility: International evidence using a google trend measure," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    17. Sanjay Kumar Rout & Hrushikesh Mallick, 2022. "Sovereign Bond Market Shock Spillover Over Different Maturities: A Journey from Normal to Covid-19 Period," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 29(4), pages 697-734, December.
    18. Elgammal, Mohammed M. & Ahmed, Walid M.A. & Alshami, Abdullah, 2021. "Price and volatility spillovers between global equity, gold, and energy markets prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    19. Zheng, Wenyuan & Li, Bingqing & Huang, Zhiyong & Chen, Lu, 2022. "Why Was There More Household Stock Market Participation During the COVID-19 Pandemic?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    20. Fariha Jahan & Jungmu Kim, 2023. "Does the Shield Effect of CSR Work in Crises? Evidence in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-18, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Pandemic portfolio; Chinese equity market;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:72:y:2021:i:c:p:213-225. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.