Anecdotes like those of mr. However, Geismann is not simple to interpret. Perhaps Schuchart and companies would have found another way to assert themselves, or they would have quickly hired workers once the construction projects resumed.
Economists tried to answer the question using data. Mr. Autor compares businesses with just under 500 employees – which may be eligible for the original version of the program – to those that are just as large, which could not. If the loans were a big help, the smaller businesses would have to keep a lot more of their workers. Instead, Mr. Author found little difference between the two groups.
However, some economists argue that such research underestimates the impact of the program because it does not focus on the smallest businesses, which are less likely to have large cash reserves or other funding.
One article, based on a survey of businesses in Oakland, California, found that those who received PPP loans were 20.5 percent more likely to say they would survive six months – but that the relatively greater optimism was limited to enterprises with less than five employees. .
Robert Bartlett, one of the authors of the Oakland study, said economists like Mr. Author may be right that PPP saves less work than hoped. “But for these small businesses, I think it helped them keep their doors open,” he said. “I’m convinced of that.” He noted that many of these businesses are in poor neighborhoods or owned by racial or ethnic minorities.
Daniel G. Guerra Jr. founded AltusLearn, which provides training and compliance courses to medical workers, in 2013. By last year, the company, based in Madison, Wis., had six employees and was on track for a year of significant growth.
Instead, when the pandemic began, medical centers discontinued virtually all non-agency care and canceled training.