Infectious disease and corporate activities

We investigate the effect of equity market volatility due to infectious disease on U.S. firms’ corporate activities from 1985 to 2020. Consistent with the theoretical framework, firms decrease their debt levels, debt maturity, corporate investments and dividend payout, and increase their cash holdings, research and development expenditure. Evaluation of the incidence of infectious diseases after natural disasters can help develop healthcare policies. This study provides a global review of the most prevalent infectious diseases observed after earthquakes. A systematic review was performed on electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, up to March 2020 (with no time limitations). Studies addressing earthquakes and infectious diseases were collected based on specified inclusion and exclusion criteria. Subsequently, the quality of the studies was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS). Data analyses were carried out on six subgroups under five different disease categories using comprehensive meta-analysis software.

Author(s): Ramin Hamidi Farahani

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