The Impact of COVID-19 on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: Evidence from Two-wave Phone Surveys in China

Ruochen Dai, Hao Feng, Junpeng Hu, Quan Jin, Huiwen Li, Ranran Wang, Ruixin Wang, Lihe Xu and Xiaobo Zhang
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Ruochen Dai: Central University of Finance and Economics
Hao Feng: Shanghai University of International Business and Economics
Junpeng Hu: Peking University
Quan Jin: Shanghai University of International Business and Economics
Huiwen Li: Shanghai University of International Business and Economics
Ranran Wang: Peking University
Ruixin Wang: Harbin Institute of Technology at Shenzhen
Lihe Xu: Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

No 549, Working Papers from Center for Global Development

Abstract: This paper examines both the short-term and mid-term impact of COVID-19 restrictions on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), based on two waves of phone interviews with a previously surveyed large SME sample in China. The outbreak of COVID-19 and resultant lockdowns cast a heavy toll on SMEs. Affected by problems of logistics blocks, labor shortages, and drops in demand, 80 percent of SMEs temporarily closed at the time of the first wave of interviews in February 2020. After reining in COVID-19, authorities largely eased lockdown restrictions in April. Consequently, most SMEs had reopened by the time of the second round of surveys in May. However, many firms, particularly export firms, ran at partial capacity, primarily due to inadequate demand. Moreover, around 18 percent of SMEs closed for good between the two waves of surveys from February to May, shedding 14 percent of total jobs.

Keywords: COVID-19; SMEs; Chinese economy; lockdown; reopening (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 27 pages
Date: 2020-09-14
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