Examining the Status Quo Bias for the Recent Global Economic Crisis: The Case of Türkiye

The objective of this paper is to investigate the "status quo bias,” which is a key concept in behavioral economics, using macroeconomic data from the recent economic crisis in Türkiye. The current global economic situation provides a favorable opportunity to analyze this idea, as there are abundant and relevant inputs for this type of study. Specifically, this paper analyzes the nexus between consumption and income before and after the economic crisis that triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic in Türkiye, with the aim of examining the "status quo bias” by employing ARDL Bounds Test. The analysis findings support that Türkiye has exhibited status quo bias for the period from 2013 to 2022. This research fills a gap in the literature by presenting evidence that Türkiye, a country that has been overlooked in the field of behavioral economics, exhibits the status quo bias in the context of recent economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 outbreak.