Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Behavioral Economics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

James Madison University

Theses/Dissertations

COVID-19

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Behavioral Economics

Covid-19: A Black Swan?, Ben M. Uehlinger May 2021

Covid-19: A Black Swan?, Ben M. Uehlinger

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

A Black Swan, as termed by Nassim Taleb, is an unexpected, high magnitude event that is often rationalized in hindsight. 9/11 and the Financial Crisis of 2008 are two examples of these tail probability events. Though COVID-19 has been regarded as momentous and unexpected, Taleb does not credit it as a true Black Swan. This paper aims to compare COVID-19 to these recent Black Swans in terms of predictability and significance. Cointegration was tested across 11 major sectors. Further economic indicators were explored with the goal of discussing the broader context of each event. It was concluded that COVID-19 was …