Equipping your company VS the new normal
February 9, 2021Our survey was constructed to allow for a counterfactual evaluation of a straight loan policy, which is a stylized representation of traditional Small Business Administration disaster relief programs. While the more generous PPP program does improve take-up and business outcomes, traditional loans with speedy delivery and sufficient liquidity are also found to meaningfully shift business owners’ expectations about survival. When compared to a straight loan without forgiveness provisions, the CARES Act had modestly greater take-up, but at much higher cost to the government. Because the majority of business owners would have taken up aid in the form of less generous loans, our results suggest that liquidity provision was paramount for these owners.