Association Between COVID-19 Risk Perceptions and Economic Expectations During the Pandemic in South Korea

    Risk perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic changed economic expectations and shaped individuals’ consumption and investment choices, thereby worsening its economic and social damages. This study investigated associations between COVID-19 risk perceptions and economic

expectations using a South Korean dataset collected during the pandemic. The results of logistic regression conducted on 1,001 participants revealed that greater pandemic risk perceptions were significantly associated with negative expectations for both national and household economies. Affective risk perception had a large and significant negative association with all four types of economic expectations, whereas cognitive risk perception had a significant negative association only with household economy expectations. The association’s magnitude was greater for the perception that the economy would “get better,” than for “get worse” or “remain the same,” indicating COVID-19 may have reduced individuals’ optimistic economic expectations. The results demonstrate that COVID-19’s economic damage may last beyond the pandemic, as individuals adjust their economic expectations.