Data and Code for: "Self-Reporting Race in Small Business Loans: A Game-Theoretic Analysis of Evidence from PPP Loans in Durham, NC"

This paper explores the game-theoretic channels of self-reporting race in small business loan applications. Using data from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was implemented to help small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, and hand-collected race information, we find that small business owners that reported their race received less funding across all races, providing evidence of a penalty for self-reporting race. Self-reported black owners fared the worst compared to the unreported race subsample. These findings are consistent with a prisoner dilemma theoretical framework, in which all participants are better off by not self-reporting race.<br>