July 13, 2020

The Impact of COVID-19 on Small Business Outcomes and Expectations

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Public Health Policy and Practice

• A survey of nearly 6,000 small businesses in the US found that small firms are financially fragile and that only 39% expected they could stay open if the crisis lasted 6 months or longer, resulting in an estimated 35.1 million jobs lost. Both grants-based programs (consistent with the Paycheck Protection Program) and traditional loans with rapid delivery and sufficient liquidity (consistent with the Small Business Administration’s disaster relief program) were found to meaningfully shift business owners’ expectations about survival; however grants-based programs had a far higher cost to the government. 

Bartik et al. (July 2020). The Impact of COVID-19 on Small Business Outcomes and Expectations. PNAS.  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2006991117