2022, Sergey Chernenko, "Racial Disparities in Access to the Paycheck Protection Program"
Presenter
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was one of the central elements of the pandemic stimulus program. It was designed to keep businesses afloat and workers employed during the early months of the COVID-19 outbreak by offering forgivable business loans. Firms accessed these loans through financial institutions such as commercial banks and fintech lenders. Using a rich data set on the loans received by restaurants in Florida, a new study by Sergey Chernenko of Purdue University and David Scharfstein of Harvard Business School and NBER examines racial disparities in PPP lending (29748). Restaurants owned by Blacks were less likely to receive PPP loans than those owned by Whites, even after controlling for business characteristics and location. Chernenko summarizes the research findings in the video above. An archive of NBER videos on pandemic-related research is available.