COVID-19 and its impact on Indian construction industry: An event study approach

COVID-19 has disrupted the normal course of production and livelihood activities across the world. This paper examines the short-term impact of this pandemic on one such strategically important sector, the construction industry of India. This study employs an event study approach to empirically study the market performance and response trends of the construction industry of India to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study finds that COVID-19 has negatively impacted the sector as reflected in the investors' response during the pandemic window. Through further empirical analysis, we also find that this sector has been affected more vis-à-vis other similar industries. In addition, the study also highlights some broad recommendations and proposes a process framework with prescriptive strategies for relevant stakeholders to smoothen the post-COVID recovery process.