Racial Discrimination and Anti-discrimination: The COVID-19 Pandemic's Impact on Chinese Restaurants in North America.

This article investigates the behavioral impact of racial discrimination against Chinese communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on consumer-to-business (C2B) discrimination in the restaurant industry. Using large-scale data from Yelp.com and SafeGraph, the study finds that Chinese restaurants experienced a significant decline in customer patronage compared to non-Chinese restaurants, reflecting increased racial discrimination especially during the pandemic's outbreak and recovery phases. Concurrently, the research identifies anti-discrimination behaviors manifested through more favorable online reviews and supportive user-generated content for Chinese restaurants, particularly among repeat customers and in areas with meaningful intergroup contact. The findings highlight the dual dynamics of discrimination and counteracting support in online consumer markets and suggest the need for targeted policy interventions to address racial discrimination during public health crises.