Global Crises and Equity Market Contagion

56 Pages Posted: 3 Jun 2011 Last revised: 26 Jul 2012

See all articles by Geert Bekaert

Geert Bekaert

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Finance

Michael Ehrmann

European Central Bank (ECB); Bank of Canada

Marcel Fratzscher

DIW Berlin; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Arnaud Mehl

European Central Bank (ECB)

Multiple version iconThere are 6 versions of this paper

Date Written: May 31, 2012

Abstract

Using the 2007-09 financial crisis as a laboratory, we analyze the transmission of crises to country-industry equity portfolios in 55 countries. We use a factor model to predict crisis returns, defining unexplained increases in factor loadings and residual correlations as indicative of contagion. We find statistically significant evidence of contagion from US markets and from the global financial sector, but the effects are economically small. By contrast, there has been substantial contagion from domestic equity markets to individual domestic equity portfolios, with its severity inversely related to the quality of countries’ economic fundamentals and policies. This confirms the old “wake-up call” hypothesis, with markets and investors focusing substantially more on country-specific characteristics during the crisis.

Keywords: contagion; financial crisis; equity markets; global transmission; market integration; country risk; factor model; financial policies; FX reserves, current account

JEL Classification: F3, G14, G15

Suggested Citation

Bekaert, Geert and Ehrmann, Michael and Fratzscher, Marcel and Mehl, Arnaud, Global Crises and Equity Market Contagion (May 31, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1856881 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1856881

Geert Bekaert

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Finance ( email )

NY
United States

Michael Ehrmann

European Central Bank (ECB) ( email )

Sonnemannstrasse 22
Frankfurt am Main, 60314
Germany
+49 69 1344/7327 (Phone)
+49 69 1344/6000 (Fax)

Bank of Canada ( email )

234 Wellington Street
Ontario, Ottawa K1A 0G9
Canada

Marcel Fratzscher (Contact Author)

DIW Berlin ( email )

Mohrenstraße 58
Berlin, 10117
Germany

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Arnaud Mehl

European Central Bank (ECB) ( email )

Sonnemannstrasse 22
Frankfurt am Main, 60314
Germany

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