The government intervention effects on panic buying behavior based on online comment data mining: a case study of COVID-19 in Hubei Province, China

At the end of 2019, the world grappled with an unparalleled public health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also precipitated a global economic downturn. Concurrently, material panic buying occurred frequently. To restore benign market order, the government instituted a series of interventions to stabilize the market. This study evaluates the tangible impact of these governmental measures in Hubei, China, the epicenter during the onset phase. Unlike existing papers relying on small-sample questionnaires and structural equation models, we mined tens of thousands of online comments and employed text analysis to maximize valid information. Key insights: (1) News about material sufficiency has the best effect, with effectiveness ranked as: material sufficiency > authority effect > market supervision > appeal and guidance; (2) During the epidemic's initial phase, government measures exhibited delay—large-scale buying had formed after lockdown, while material-related news was released later; (3) Combining authority influence with material sufficiency yielded the most favorable results. The paper concludes with recommendations to amplify the efficacy of government-led public opinion interventions in future crises.