Topics Archives: Small Business

PERC Research Findings for COVID-19 Economic Recovery Efforts

PERC has conducted years of research on disaster recovery (following major hurricanes, such as Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005), credit access for lower income Americans, and credit reporting in general. This white paper discusses those findings and draws lessons for the economic recovery phase of the current COVID-19 crisis.

The Impact of Credit Reporting and Credit Scoring on the MFI Sector

This research analyzes a series of questions pertaining to the impacts on microfinance institutions (MFIs) when using credit bureau data (conventionally referred to as credit files) for purposes of underwriting credit; for the same purposes, it also analyzes credit scoring models and credit decisioning platforms that use credit bureau data.

Personalized Credit Education: Consumer and Small Business Owner Attitudes, Impacts and Impediments

This study is the final report on research that examines resulting credit score changes and consumer attitudes following the use of personalized credit education sessions by study participants. The credit education service examined is offered by a national credit bureau. Such services (offered by for-profit non-lender/non-creditor entities) are covered and inhibited by CROA.

Summary of A Reexamination of Who Gains and Who Loses from Credit Card Payments

This report is a summary of A Reexamination of Who Wins and Who Loses from Credit Card Payments, which provides an in-depth analysis and reexamination of the theory explored by authors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in 2010 that credit cards and credit card rewards programs lead to a regressive transfer of merchant costs at the point of sale. It examines how sensitive the Boston Fed staff report findings are to variations in the underlying assumptions and modifications to the accounting framework used.

A Reexamination of Who Gains and Who Loses from Credit Card Payments

This report provides an in-depth analysis and reexamination of the theory explored by authors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in 2010 that credit cards and credit card rewards programs lead to a regressive transfer of merchant costs at the point of sale. It examines how sensitive the Boston Fed staff report findings are to variations in the underlying assumptions and modifications to the accounting framework used.

Louisiana Small Businesses Five Years Post-Katrina: Assessing LDRF Program Impacts And Measuring Existing Needs

This report examines the continuing impact of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters on small businesses and the self-employed in Louisiana. Primary to this research was an examination of the impacts of aid received from the Community Development Organizations (CDOs) funded in part by the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF) as well as aid received from other sources. It also examines the extent of existing unmet needs of small businesses in Louisiana. For this research PERC surveyed over 1,600 small business operators and analyzed data from tens of thousands of Experian small business credit files.