IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ecdequ/v39y2025i4p250-260.html

How Much Were Minority Neighborhoods in the United States Affected During COVID-19 in the Aspect of Business Closure Rates? Evidence From Six Metropolitan Areas

Author

Listed:
  • Shan Yang
  • Yasuyuki (Yas) Motoyama

Abstract

This study evaluates business closure rates in minority neighborhoods within a metropolitan area and extends this analysis across six U.S. metropolitan areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing business and demographic data at the census-tract level, the authors develop a comparative research strategy to explore variations in closure rates among racially diverse neighborhoods. This analysis employs both global and local models to examine spatial interactions among variables associated with business closure rates. The authors use ordinary least squares multivariate regression to identify broad patterns at the metropolitan level and geographically weighted regression to assess local variations and interactions within specific spatial units. The findings reveal diverse dynamics between racial composition and economic outcomes, highlighting uneven closure rates across the metropolitan areas. This study enhances our understanding of the economic impacts on urban neighborhoods during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing detailed comparison analysis and spatial analysis, offering valuable insights for economic development and policy making.

Suggested Citation

  • Shan Yang & Yasuyuki (Yas) Motoyama, 2025. "How Much Were Minority Neighborhoods in the United States Affected During COVID-19 in the Aspect of Business Closure Rates? Evidence From Six Metropolitan Areas," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 39(4), pages 250-260, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecdequ:v:39:y:2025:i:4:p:250-260
    DOI: 10.1177/08912424251374678
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08912424251374678
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/08912424251374678?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Couch, Kenneth A. & Fairlie, Robert W. & Xu, Huanan, 2020. "Early evidence of the impacts of COVID-19 on minority unemployment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    2. Robert Fairlie, 2020. "The impact of COVID‐19 on small business owners: Evidence from the first three months after widespread social‐distancing restrictions," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 727-740, October.
    3. Farboodi, Maryam & Jarosch, Gregor & Shimer, Robert, 2021. "Internal and external effects of social distancing in a pandemic," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    4. Raffi E. García & William A. Darity Jr., 2022. "Self-Reporting Race in Small Business Loans: A Game-Theoretic Analysis of Evidence from PPP Loans in Durham, NC," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 112, pages 299-302, May.
    5. Wolfe, Marcus T. & Patel, Pankaj C., 2021. "Everybody hurts: Self-employment, financial concerns, mental distress, and well-being during COVID-19," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 15(C).
    6. Catherine Buffington & Daniel Chapman & Emin Dinlersoz & Lucia Foster & John Haltiwanger, 2021. "High-frequency data from the U.S. Census Bureau during the COVID-19 pandemic: small vs. new businesses," Business Economics, Palgrave Macmillan;National Association for Business Economics, vol. 56(3), pages 155-167, July.
    7. Rachel Atkins & Lisa Cook & Robert Seamans, 2022. "Discrimination in lending? Evidence from the Paycheck Protection Program," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 843-865, February.
    8. Goolsbee, Austan & Syverson, Chad, 2021. "Fear, lockdown, and diversion: Comparing drivers of pandemic economic decline 2020," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    9. Yasuyuki (Yas) Motoyama, 2022. "Is COVID-19 Causing More Business Closures in Poor and Minority Neighborhoods?," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 36(2), pages 124-133, May.
    10. Terrie Louise Walmsley & Adam Rose & Dan Wei, 2021. "Impacts on the U.S. macroeconomy of mandatory business closures in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(15), pages 1293-1300, September.
    11. T. William Lester & Matthew D. Wilson, 2023. "The Racial and Spatial Impacts of the Paycheck Protection Program," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 37(3), pages 243-258, August.
    12. Brett Barkley & Mark Schweitzer, 2023. "Credit Availability for Minority Business Owners in an Evolving Credit Environment," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 37(3), pages 230-242, August.
    13. Iuliia Shybalkina, 2022. "Place-Based Small Business Support and its Implications for Neighborhood Revitalization," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 36(4), pages 355-370, November.
    14. Mark K. Cassell & Michael Schwan & Marc Schneiberg, 2023. "Bank Types, Inclusivity, and Paycheck Protection Program Lending During COVID-19," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 37(3), pages 277-294, August.
    15. Mathijs de Vaan & Saqib Mumtaz & Abhishek Nagaraj & Sameer B. Srivastava, 2021. "Social Learning in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Community Establishments’ Closure Decisions Follow Those of Nearby Chain Establishments," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(7), pages 4446-4454, July.
    16. Feldman, Maryann P, 2001. "The Entrepreneurial Event Revisited: Firm Formation in a Regional Context," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 10(4), pages 861-891, December.
    17. Han Li & Justin Stoler, 2023. "COVID-19 and Urban Futures: Impacts on Business Closures in Miami-Dade County," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 113(4), pages 834-856, April.
    18. Crane, Leland D. & Decker, Ryan A. & Flaaen, Aaron & Hamins-Puertolas, Adrian & Kurz, Christopher, 2022. "Business exit during the COVID-19 pandemic: Non-traditional measures in historical context," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    19. Robert Fairlie & Frank M. Fossen, 2022. "The early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business sales," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1853-1864, April.
    20. Xiao Huang & Xiaoqi Bao & Zhenlong Li & Shaozeng Zhang & Bo Zhao, 2023. "Black Businesses Matter: A Longitudinal Study of Black-Owned Restaurants in the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Geospatial Big Data," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 113(1), pages 189-205, January.
    21. Richard Florida & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Michael Storper, 2023. "Critical Commentary: Cities in a post-COVID world," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(8), pages 1509-1531, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Robert Fairlie & Frank M. Fossen & Reid Johnsen & Gentian Droboniku, 2023. "Were small businesses more likely to permanently close in the pandemic?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 1613-1629, April.
    2. Cathy Yang Liu & Luísa Nazareno, 2025. "State responses during the COVID-19 pandemic and their impacts on small businesses," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 64(2), pages 625-643, February.
    3. Barrot, Jean-Noël & Bonelli, Maxime & Grassi, Basile & Sauvagnat, Julien, 2024. "Causal effects of closing businesses in a pandemic," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    4. Kim, Jihee & Lee, Susang, 2024. "Can stimulus checks to households save the local economy? The impact of South Korea’s COVID-19 stimulus on small business sales," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 159-176.
    5. Crane, Leland D. & Decker, Ryan A. & Flaaen, Aaron & Hamins-Puertolas, Adrian & Kurz, Christopher, 2022. "Business exit during the COVID-19 pandemic: Non-traditional measures in historical context," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    6. Aaron J. Staples & Thomas P. Krumel, 2023. "The Paycheck Protection Program and small business performance: Evidence from craft breweries," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 931-956, October.
    7. Kurmann, André & Lalé, Etienne & Ta, Lien, 2025. "Measuring small business dynamics and employment with private-sector real-time data," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    8. Shun-Yang Lee & Julian Runge & Daniel Yoo & Yakov Bart & Anett Gyurak & J. W. Schneider, 2023. "COVID-19 Demand Shocks Revisited: Did Advertising Technology Help Mitigate Adverse Consequences for Small and Midsize Businesses?," Papers 2307.09035, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2024.
    9. Ioannis Giotopoulos & Alexander S. Kritikos & Aggelos Tsakanikas, 2023. "A lasting crisis affects R&D decisions of smaller firms: the Greek experience," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1161-1175, August.
    10. Bravata, Dena & Cantor, Jonathan & Sood, Neeraj & Whaley, Christopher, 2025. "Back to school: The effect of school visits during COVID-19 on COVID-19 outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    11. Xiao Chen & Hanwei Huang & Jiandong Ju & Ruoyan Sun & Jialiang Zhang, 2022. "Endogenous cross-region human mobility and pandemics," CEP Discussion Papers dp1860, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    12. Martín Gonzalez-Eiras & Dirk Niepelt, 2020. "Optimally Controlling an Epidemic," CESifo Working Paper Series 8770, CESifo.
    13. Andrew G. Atkeson & Karen A. Kopecky & Tao Zha, 2024. "Four Stylized Facts About Covid‐19," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 65(1), pages 3-42, February.
    14. Finamor, Lucas & Scott, Dana, 2021. "Labor market trends and unemployment insurance generosity during the pandemic," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    15. Richard Florida & Todd Gabe, 2023. "COVID-19, the New Urban Crisis, and Cities: How COVID-19 Compounds the Influence of Economic Segregation and Inequality on Metropolitan Economic Performance," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 37(4), pages 328-348, November.
    16. Wu, Jianxin & Zhan, Xiaoling & Xu, Hui & Ma, Chunbo, 2023. "The economic impacts of COVID-19 and city lockdown: Early evidence from China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 151-165.
    17. Mauro Caselli & Andrea Fracasso & Sergio Scicchitano, 2022. "From the lockdown to the new normal: individual mobility and local labor market characteristics following the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 1517-1550, October.
    18. Giorgio Fabbri & Salvatore Federico & Davide Fiaschi & Fausto Gozzi, 2024. "Mobility decisions, economic dynamics and epidemic," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 77(1), pages 495-531, February.
    19. Peter T. Leeson & Louis Rouanet, 2021. "Externality and COVID‐19," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 87(4), pages 1107-1118, April.
    20. Cameron J. Borgholthaus & Joshua V. White & Erik Markin & Vishal K. Gupta, 2023. "Venture creation in the aftermath of COVID-19: The impact of US governor party affiliation and discretion," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 655-674, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:ecdequ:v:39:y:2025:i:4:p:250-260. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.