Consumer sentiment towards Asians in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Charles, Kerwin Kofi; Guryan, Jonathan; Park, Kyung H.
• 署名单位: Yale University; National Bureau of Economic Research; Northwestern University; National Bureau of Economic Research; Wellesley College
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2025.105396
• 发表日期: 2025

摘要

We revisit the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic to examine whether restaurant foot traffic reveals changes in sentiment towards ethnic groups. Our findings show reduced demand for dining at Asian restaurants located inside Asian enclaves, while outside enclaves, the decline in visits to Asian restaurants was comparable to non-Asian restaurants. In contrast, Italian restaurant enclaves did not experience similar declines in foot traffic after news of the outbreak in Italy and the first U.S. case linked to travel to Italy. We also find suggestive evidence that the shift in consumption was associated with elevated negative sentiment towards Asians rather than efforts to avoid exposure to international travelers.