Responding to Uncertainties in COVID-19 with Real Options: The Perspective of Governments
Loading...
Access rights
openAccess
publishedVersion
URL
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
This publication is imported from Aalto University research portal.
View publication in the Research portal (opens in new window)
View/Open full text file from the Research portal (opens in new window)
Other link related to publication (opens in new window)
View publication in the Research portal (opens in new window)
View/Open full text file from the Research portal (opens in new window)
Other link related to publication (opens in new window)
Authors
Date
2020
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
6
Series
Review of Economics and Finance, Volume 18, pp. 69-74
Abstract
COVID-19 has affected people, businesses and governments worldwide, causing widespread uncertainty in the business world. Here we look at COVID-19 uncertainty using the tool of real options. We focus on the perspective of governments, particularly the Finnish Government, which in its decisions has endeavoured to keep many of its options open in this situation. We describe the real options relevant here, how uncertainty impacts them and also how selected cognitive biases may influence the decisions through the use of such real options. The real options discussed are the option to delay, the time-to-build option, the option to alter scale and the option to switch. The cognitive biases relevant here are the status quo bias and the confirmation bias. The study extends the research on real options by scrutinising a highly topical case. The study also offers guidance to governments on how to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Moreover, the study provides suggestions on how to evaluate governmental decisions in the COVID-19 crisis. This study addresses a highly topical phenomenon, the COVID-19 crisis, in order to shed light on how real options can be used as a tool to analyse such a crisis.Description
Funding Information: The authors wish to thank the Emil Aaltonen Foundation for their funding of the research upon which this paper is based. The authors would also like to thank Virginia Mattila for language checking and Thomas Brand, Vikash Sinha and Thomas Taussi for their helpful ideas which motivated the present paper. Thanks are also due to the representatives of the Finnish Government for their handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2020– All Rights Reserved
Keywords
COVID-19, government, real option, uncertainty
Other note
Citation
Chakhovich, T & Marttila, S 2020, ' Responding to Uncertainties in COVID-19 with Real Options : The Perspective of Governments ', Review of Economics and Finance, vol. 18, pp. 69-74 . https://doi.org/10.55365/1923.X2020.18.07