Impact of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender on the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Amounts

The Paycheck Protection Program helped to preserve employment relationships during the sudden shutdown of economic activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper analyzes whether small business owners’ race, ethnicity, or gender played a role in the PPP loan amount received. In 2020 and 2021, non-White-, Hispanic-, and female-owned small businesses received smaller PPP loans than their business counterparts of the same size. Larger companies displayed increased discrepancies in loan amounts. From 2020 to 2021, disparities among non-White business owners decreased; however, female and Hispanic owners continued to receive less in PPP loans than male and non-Hispanic owners. Lee bounds estimates show that female-owned businesses in rural counties received smaller PPP loans per employee than female-owned businesses in urban counties. Structural interviews with PPP loan recipients in Northeast Ohio showed that businesses receiving smaller loan amounts had more difficulties and less knowledge about the loan application process compared to larger loans recipients.