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Consumer Demand and Credit Supply as Barriers to Growth for Black-Owned Startups

Institute Working Paper 79 | Published November 3, 2023

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Authors

Eugene Tan University of Toronto
Teegawende Zeida Visiting Scholar, Institute
Consumer Demand and Credit Supply as Barriers to Growth for Black-Owned Startups

Abstract

We formulate a framework showing that differences in capital returns and capital intensity between groups of firms can identify relative differences in consumer demand and credit constraints. Using micro-data on Black- and White-owned startups, we find robust evidence that Black-owned startups have lower capital returns, implying that Black-owned startups face lower consumer demand due to race. In contrast, we find mixed evidence of tighter credit constraints due to race. We further show that differences in capital returns are persistent over time, whereas capital intensity differences are transitory. This suggests that lower demand, rather than credit constraints, might be the main barrier to growth for Black-owned startups.




Published in: _Journal of Monetary Economics_ (Vol. 143, April 2024, article 103543), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoneco.2023.12.001.