Brexit: Its Passing and Reverberations

Abstract

The most significant financial and economic news story in 2016 was the June 23 decision of the British public to terminate the U.K.’s membership in the European Union. Polls and bookmakers in the days leading up to the vote had constantly maintained that, while the vote would be close, a “Brexit” was unlikely. As we now know, that position proved false. Financial markets around the world reacted quickly and sharply to the unexpected news.