In a December interview with CNBC, Nobel Laureate Robert Shiller offered his view of market movements, saying that vaccine optimism has placed the economy at a turning point.
Although Shiller believes the market is highly priced, he said, “it’s not so high that I wouldn’t consider it as an investment.” He added that positive vaccine outcomes would trigger “fundamental” rather than just “psychological” change for the economy, and he expects work-from-home to become much more acceptable even as COVID-19 restrictions are eased—which will dampen demand for things like cars and restaurant take-out while providing an additional boost to the tech sector.
But Shiller expressed some concern around the level of optimism regarding how quickly a vaccine will return life to normal: “They’re expecting miracles from the vaccine,” he said, arguing that virus fears will probably endure for at least another year. Still, he doesn’t believe it will negatively impact stocks, noting that the market has survived the extreme fear that was present in March and April.