The Impact of Loss Aversion on Peoples Behavior in Different Markets

Abstract

Loss aversion is an important psychological phenomenon. Adding loss aversion to the category of behavioral economics can well explain many phenomena that cannot be explained by general models. This paper reviews some relevant studies showing the application of loss aversion in the stock markets, real estate markets and COVID-19, and finds that loss aversion does influence people's decisions and the market as a whole. In the stock market, the combination of narrow framing and loss aversion leads to a shorter valuation period and investors reluctance to sell the stocks. Loss aversion in the real estate market will drive house sellers to set a higher price, and investors with more experience are even more loss aversion than inexperienced investors. In the context of COVID-19, emergency orders can improve their profits, and the time of blockade can be extended under the loss framing. In general, loss aversion makes people more reluctant to give up what they have, leading to higher trading prices and other problems. Thus, this paper corroborates that loss aversion has more explanatory power than general economic models in some aspects. Further analysis is needed as to how loss aversion can be used to predict and modify people's behavior.