Understanding the Economic Impacts of COVID-19

The Inclusive Economy Lab and the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation at Chicago Booth have embarked on a series of joint research projects to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on small businesses and households.

High-Frequency Labor Market Data

Researchers are analyzing daily timecard data for nearly 40,000 small businesses in the United States, tracking changes in hours worked before and after the COVID-19 crisis began. Collected in collaboration with Homebase, data comes from varying sizes of small businesses across 10 different industries.

Read the most recent analysis

See the Chicago Small Business Recovery Dashboard and Little Village Dashboard

Download the press release

Small Business Surveys

COVID-19 impact on small businesses in Chicago: Results from an Inclusive Economy Lab survey

In partnership with several governmental and agency partners and other business-serving organizations, the Inclusive Economy Lab fielded a survey to understand the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses and how those business owners responded to the various federal and local loan and grant programs available. Researchers collected responses from 911 business owners in Chicago between April 21st and May 21st who responded to an invitation they received via email. 

Read the memo

The impact of COVID-19 on small business outcomes and expectations

To explore the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on small businesses, researchers conducted a survey of more than 5,800 small businesses between March 28 and April 4, 2020. 

Read the paper

MORE

Read about our COVID-19 Household Panel Survey »

See all our COVID-19 research with the Rustandy Center » 

Covid-19 Homebase Press Release 2020-04-09 Covid-19 Homebase Analysis Week 3–4 Covid-19 Homebase Analysis Week 5–6 Covid-19 Homebase Analysis Week 7–8 Covid-19 Homebase Analysis Week 1 Covid-19 Homebase Analysis Week 2 Chicago Small Business Recovery Dashboard Covid-19 Impact on Small Businesses in Chicago - Survey Results Chicago Small Business Recovery Dashboard Chicago Small Business Recovery Dashboard - Little Village