Gold prices, cultural factors, and Covid-19 pandemic: An international analysis

Abstract

Using data from 24 economies from 2010 to 2022, we demonstrated the significant effect of national culture, a missing factor, on physical, jewellery, and gold bar and coin demand. We also determined that the COVID-19 pandemic variable has a significantly positive influence on demand for gold in Confucian economies, jewellery in South Asian and Middle East economies, and bar and coin in Confucian economies. One key implication is that although the total global gold consumption tends to decline during economic turmoil, individuals in these countries tend to accumulate more gold because gold is considered as a safe haven asset during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our findings also provide useful implications for the development of the gold markets.