The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Asia and Their Digitalization Responses

Tetsushi Sonobe, Asami Takeda, Susumu Yoshida and Hoa Thi Truong
Additional contact information
Asami Takeda: Asian Development Bank Institute
Susumu Yoshida: Asian Development Bank Institute
Hoa Thi Truong: Asian Development Bank Institute

No 1241, ADBI Working Papers from Asian Development Bank Institute

Abstract: Soon after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments began extending financial and other forms of support to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and their workers because smaller firms are more vulnerable to negative shocks to their supply chain, labor supply, and final demand for goods and services than larger firms. Since MSMEs are diverse, however, the severity of the pandemic’s impact on them varies considerably depending on their characteristics. Using online survey data of MSMEs from eight developing economies in South, Southeast, and Northeast Asia, we attempt to deepen our understanding of the impact of the pandemic on MSMEs, especially their employment, sales revenue, and cash flow. We characterize those firms that began participating in online commerce and try to determine how their use of online commerce and their employment are related in this difficult time. We also examine the government support that MSMEs have received and the extent to which it has satisfied their support needs.

Keywords: COVID-19; micro; small; and medium enterprises (MSMEs); layoffs; cash shortage; digitalization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 J63 L25 O53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2021-03-26
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cwa, nep-ent, nep-isf, nep-sbm and nep-sea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on micro, small, and medium enterprises in Asia and their digitalization responses (2022)
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