The Impact of COVID-19 on Power Generation Companies in the Tehran Stock Exchange

نویسندگان

1 Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.

3 Ph.D. Candidate in Economics, Department of Economic Development and Planning, Faculty of Management and Economics, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

4 Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Economics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.

doi
10.48308/jep.2026.241432.1246
چکیده

The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as one of the most significant public health crises in recent decades, exerting far-reaching effects not only on human health but also on global economies and financial markets. Its disruptive nature created unprecedented uncertainty, making it essential to understand sector-specific impacts. This study examines the consequences of the pandemic for the performance of power generation companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the period from April 2020 to July 2023. To achieve this, a Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) model was employed, incorporating several key variables such as COVID-19 mortality and infection rates per million people, international oil prices, global gold prices, and foreign exchange rates. The empirical results indicate that higher COVID-19 mortality and infection rates exerted a significant negative effect on the performance of power generation companies, reflecting the sensitivity of this sector to public health shocks. Conversely, increases in oil prices and exchange rates were associated with improved company performance, while rising gold prices had adverse effects. These findings highlight the importance of strategic policymaking to mitigate economic vulnerabilities during pandemics and strengthen market resilience in the face of future crises.