Paper

The Impact of COVID-19 on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Evidence from two-wave phone surveys in China

This paper examines both the short and medium-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 phone interviews were conducted in February and May 2020 with previously sampled SMEs in seven provinces, which are largely representative at the provincial level and the major industrial level for China as a whole. The phone interviews asked entrepreneurs about the operational status, major challenges, and business outlook of their businesses as well as their feelings about COVID-19. The rapid telephone interviews, in combination with the baseline survey, provide a rich and timely information to study the impact of the pandemic on SMEs.

About this Publication

By Ruochen Dai, Hao Feng, Junpeng Hu, Quan Jin, Huiwen Li, Ranran Wang, Ruixin Wang, Lihe Xu & Xiaobo Zhang
Published