在线评论聚合平台的金融后果：来自 Yelp 评分与 SBA 贷款的证据

中文摘要

本文展示了在线评论聚合平台的金融后果与实体经济后果。我利用一种断点回归设计克服了 Yelp 评论与小企业管理局（SBA）贷款结果之间的内生关系，结果表明更高的粗颗粒 Yelp 评分会带来更优的贷款条款和贷款表现。具体而言，Yelp 评分提高半颗星对应贷款利差下降 25 个基点以及抵押品要求降低 6%。当银行掌握的借款人信息较少时，这些效应更为明显。更高的 Yelp 评分还有助于提升消费者需求以及未来企业开业的可能性。这些发现表明，在线评论聚合平台既影响消费者的选择，也影响银行的融资决策。

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the financial and real consequences of online review aggregators. Exploiting a regression discontinuity design that overcomes the endogenous relationship between Yelp reviews and Small Business Administration loan outcomes, I show that higher coarse Yelp ratings lead to improved loan terms and performance. Specifically, a one-half-star increase in Yelp ratings corresponds to a 25-basis-point decrease in loan spread and 6% lower collateral requirements. The effects are more pronounced when banks have less borrower information. Higher Yelp ratings also contribute to increased consumer demand and the likelihood of future business openings. These findings indicate that online review aggregators influence both consumer choices and banks’ financing decisions.