Event Title
Response to COVID-19 and the Distribution of Paycheck Protection Program Loans Across Counties
Faculty Sponsor
Eric van Holm
College(s)
College of Liberal Arts, Education & Human Development
Submission Type
Oral Presentation
Description
The COVID-19 pandemic created a significant disruption in economic activity across the United States. On March 27, 2020, the U.S. federal government passed the paycheck protection program (PPP) as part of the CARES Act to offer loans to businesses. While the loans have been shown to have been successful at keeping businesses running and reducing unemployment (Bartik, Cullen, et al. 2020; Humphries, Neilson, and Ulyssea 2020), their spatial distribution has not been studied using data on all loans issued. This paper analyzes the predictors of how many per capita loans were received at the county level using data from the Small Business Administration, The American Community Survey, the County Business Patterns, and others. We find that communities with more eligible businesses, more banks available, and larger increases in their unemployment received more loans per capita. Conversely, larger numbers of COVID-19 cases were associated with receiving fewer loans. In addition, wealthier, whiter, and less urban counties also received a larger number of loans.
Response to COVID-19 and the Distribution of Paycheck Protection Program Loans Across Counties
The COVID-19 pandemic created a significant disruption in economic activity across the United States. On March 27, 2020, the U.S. federal government passed the paycheck protection program (PPP) as part of the CARES Act to offer loans to businesses. While the loans have been shown to have been successful at keeping businesses running and reducing unemployment (Bartik, Cullen, et al. 2020; Humphries, Neilson, and Ulyssea 2020), their spatial distribution has not been studied using data on all loans issued. This paper analyzes the predictors of how many per capita loans were received at the county level using data from the Small Business Administration, The American Community Survey, the County Business Patterns, and others. We find that communities with more eligible businesses, more banks available, and larger increases in their unemployment received more loans per capita. Conversely, larger numbers of COVID-19 cases were associated with receiving fewer loans. In addition, wealthier, whiter, and less urban counties also received a larger number of loans.
Comments
3rd place, Graduate Presentation