EXAMINING THE HERD BEHAVIOR BIAS AMONG INVESTORS IN THE IRAQ STOCK EXCHANGE

Abstract

The period 2017-2021 was characterized by a great deal of political unrest and local popular protests that coincided with the emergence of the Corona pandemic in 2020, which greatly affected the decision-making by investors. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to reveal the herd behavior of investors in the Iraqi Stock Exchange during the mentioned period. This has clearly affected various aspects of the global and local economies.  Therefore,  to achieve the objective of the study, the research adopted CSAD approach to prove the existence of herd behavior in relation to investors' decisions by analyzing daily data listed on the Iraqi Stock Exchange ISX 60. The results of the study indicate that there is herd behavior among investors in this stock exchange during the testing period. This is the result of the severe local political crises that the country has experienced. Add to that the two global crises: the COVID-19 crisis and the collapse of global oil prices that negatively affected the rentier Iraqi economy. These two crises turned into a global economic crisis that led investors to uncertainty in making their own decisions and trying to imitate the choices of decision-makers and other investors.