This column is used to record some papers that I read out of personal interest. I will briefly summarize the main content of these articles and put forward some personal feelings and opinions.
Because most of the time I am looking at content that is highly relevant to my own research. This is a kind of information cocoon, which is not conducive to stimulating my own research interest.
Cite this paper：Huang, J.T., Krupenkin, M., Rothschild, D. et al. The cost of anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nat Hum Behav 7, 682–695 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01493-6
read on 9/6/2024
Comment:
The study provides a comprehensive analysis of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Asian American businesses, particularly restaurants, through the lens of consumer discrimination. It employs a robust methodology that includes web search data, consumer mobility data, and surveys to examine the effects of anti-Asian sentiment on business traffic and revenue.
The research is significant as it not only documents the decline in patronage for Asian restaurants but also explores the underlying psychological mechanisms driving consumer behavior, such as collective blame and out-group homogeneity bias.
I hope that one day, if I have the opportunity to study in the US, there will be no more politicians who promote racial hate. LOVE AND PEACE.
Background：
The COVID-19 pandemic has unfortunately been accompanied by a significant increase in anti-China sentiment, which has been expressed through disturbing acts of violence and discrimination targeted at Asian-Americans.
Research Question:
How do the subtle patterns of consumer discrimination change during pandemics?
These patterns are difficult to observe directly but have significant impacts on the livelihoods of Asian Americans.
Methods and Hypotheses:
We conduct our research against the backdrop of restaurants—ubiquitous small businesses—where the products sold are closely tied to ethnicity. By leveraging a series of surveys, online search trends, and consumer transaction data, we investigate the following specific issues:
Does racial animosity towards Chinese people lead to consumer discrimination against Chinese businesses?
H1: During the COVID-19 crisis, the patronage of Chinese restaurants will significantly decline compared to non-Asian restaurants.
H2: Post-COVID-19 pandemic, the patronage of non-Chinese Asian restaurants will also significantly decrease relative to non-Asian restaurants.
Is the stigmatization of the virus by politicians and media the cause of this racial animosity?
H3: In areas with higher support for Trump, the relative decline in visits to Chinese restaurants will be greater compared to areas with lower Trump support.
Will this racial discriminatory behavior spread to a broader range of Asian communities?
H4: Compared to non-Trump voters, Trump supporters are more likely to mistakenly identify non-Chinese Asian restaurants.
Conclusions:
Compared to similar non-Asian restaurants, the transaction volume of Asian restaurants declined by 18.4% (an estimated loss of $7.42 billion in revenue in 2020), with a more significant drop in areas with higher support for Donald Trump. Our findings align with the roles of collective blame, outgroup homogeneity, and racial misrecognition in explaining how anti-Chinese rhetoric harms the Asian American community, emphasizing the importance of avoiding racism and stigmatization in political and public health communication.
