Facial expressions and the business cycle: assessing the information content of communicated emotions

Abstract:This paper is the first to consider the link between information conveyed by the facial expressions of a range of economic actors and economic activity. A collection of photographs is used to construct indicators of emotions communicated by the facial expressions. The indicators correspo...

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Autores principales: Aromí, José Daniel, Clements, Adam
Formato: Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Departamento de Investigación Francisco Valsecchi 2020
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Acceso en línea:https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/11082
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Sumario:Abstract:This paper is the first to consider the link between information conveyed by the facial expressions of a range of economic actors and economic activity. A collection of photographs is used to construct indicators of emotions communicated by the facial expressions. The indicators correspond to the US economy for the period 1996-2018. Significant links between the level of economic activity and indices of emotional states are observed. Beyond contemporaneous associations, the indicators are shown to anticipate business cycle dynamics. Indices summarizing emotions linked to policy making and the stock market contain more information than indicators linked to corporations.