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The Effects of COVID-19 on U.S. Small Businesses: Evidence from Owners, Managers, and Employees

Author

Listed:
  • Ströbel, Johannes
  • Alekseev, Georgij
  • Amer, Safaa
  • Gopal, Manasa
  • Kuchler, Theresa
  • Schneider, JW
  • Wernerfelt, Nils

Abstract

We analyze a large-scale survey of owners, managers, and employees of small businesses in the United States to understand the effects of the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic on those businesses. The survey was fielded in late April 2020 among Facebook business page administrators, frequent sellers on Facebook's e-commerce platform Marketplace, and the general Facebook user population. We observe more than 66,000 responses covering most sectors of the economy, including many businesses that had stopped operating due to the pandemic. The survey asks 136 questions covering topics such as changes in business operations and employment, changes in financing patterns, and the interaction of household and business responsibilities. We characterize the adjustments implemented to survive the pandemic and explore the key challenges to continue operating or to re-open. We show how these patterns differ across industry, firm size, owner gender, and other firm characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • Ströbel, Johannes & Alekseev, Georgij & Amer, Safaa & Gopal, Manasa & Kuchler, Theresa & Schneider, JW & Wernerfelt, Nils, 2020. "The Effects of COVID-19 on U.S. Small Businesses: Evidence from Owners, Managers, and Employees," CEPR Discussion Papers 15290, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15290
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    Cited by:

    1. Sabrina T. Howell & Theresa Kuchler & David Snitkof & Johannes Stroebel & Jun Wong, 2021. "Lender Automation and Racial Disparities in Credit Access," NBER Working Papers 29364, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Liu, Yu & Wei, Siqi & Xu, Jian, 2021. "COVID-19 and Women-Led Businesses around the World," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    3. Nicholas Bloom & Robert S. Fletcher & Ethan Yeh, 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 on US Firms," NBER Working Papers 28314, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Zofia Gródek-Szostak & Jadwiga Adamczyk & Małgorzata Luc & Marcin Suder & Justyna Tora & Karolina Kotulewicz-Wisińska & Wojciech Zysk & Anna Szeląg-Sikora, 2022. "Hard Cash in Hard Times—The Effect of Institutional Support for Businesses Shaken by COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-18, April.
    5. Catherine Buffington & Daniel Chapman & Emin Dinlersoz & Lucia Foster & James Hunt & Shawn Klimek, 2021. "Small Business Pulse Survey Estimates by Owner Characteristics and Rural/Urban Designation," Working Papers 21-24, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    6. Nicholas Bloom & Philip Bunn & Paul Mizen & Pawel Smietanka & Gregory Thwaites, 2020. "The Impact of Covid-19 on Productivity," NBER Working Papers 28233, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Barry, John W. & Campello, Murillo & Graham, John R. & Ma, Yueran, 2022. "Corporate flexibility in a time of crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(3), pages 780-806.
    8. Sabrina T. Howell & Theresa Kuchler & David Snitkof & Johannes Stroebel & Jun Wong, 2021. "Racial Disparities in Access to Small Business Credit: Evidence from the Paycheck Protection Program," CESifo Working Paper Series 9345, CESifo.
    9. Cong, Lin William & Yang, Xiaohan & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2021. "SMEs Amidst the Pandemic and Reopening: Digital Edge and Transformation," Applied Economics and Policy Working Paper Series 317045, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    10. Daiji Kawaguchi & Sagiri Kitao & Manabu Nose, 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on Japanese firms: mobility and resilience via remote work," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(6), pages 1419-1449, December.
    11. Mark Partridge & Seung‐hun Chung & Sydney Schreiner Wertz, 2022. "Lessons from the 2020 Covid recession for understanding regional resilience," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 1006-1031, September.
    12. Nicola Branzoli & Edoardo Rainone & Ilaria Supino, 2023. "The role of banks' technology adoption in credit markets during the pandemic," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1406, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    13. Michael D. Noel, 2022. "Competitive survival in a devastated industry: Evidence from hotels during COVID‐19," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 3-24, February.
    14. M. Suguna & Bhavin Shah & B. U. Sivakami & M. Suresh, 2022. "Factors affecting repurposing operations in Micro Small and Medium Enterprises during Covid-19 emergency," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 1181-1197, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Small businesses; Covid-19; Working from home; Small business finance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

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