The Wal-Mart revolution
Subtitle: how big-box stores benefit consumers, workers, and the economy
By: Richard Vedder and Wendell Cox
Contributors: Cox, Wendell
Publisher: AEI Press; Distributed to the trade by National Book Network
Published: 2006
Place of publication: Washington, D.C; Blue Ridge Summit, PA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 210
ISBN-13: 9780844742441
Subjects: Wal-Mart (Firm); Discount houses (Retail trade) -- United States -- Management
Description: Wal-Mart and other big-box discount retailers such as Target or Home Depot have been vilified as selfish retailers that mistreat their workers, outsource American jobs, uproot communities, and harm the poor. Others, however, argue that these stories have improved Americans' standard of living, especially among the less affluent. Which of these competing visions is correct? Is Wal-Mart a ford for good or evil? Is it a saint of a sinner? In the Wal-Mart Revolution, Richard Vedder and Wendell Cox present a comprehensive and balanced account of the dramatic changes, transforming American retailing. Vedder and Cox analyze the best available economic data and conclude that American consumers -- particularly the less affluent --^

have benefited tremendously from Wal-Mart's "everyday low prices"; American consumers save tens of billions of dollars annually from the lower prices that Wal-Mart and other big-box retailers offer. Wal-Mart has also been a generally good employer, paying competitive market wages and offering fringe benefits (including health care) roughly comparable to other retailers. New Wal-Mart stores benefit local communities by boosting employment and income levels while providing local consumers lower prices and expanded product choices. Opposition to Wal-Mart is the latest chapter in a long history of resistance to retail innovation in America. In the late nineteenth century, local retailers complained about mail order competitors such as Sears, Roebuck. In the 1920s and 1930s, small grocery stores bitterly fought the growth of chain groceries like the A & P.^

Today, anti-Wal-Mart forces use zoning laws, mandatory health insurance requirements, and higher minimum wag requirements for large retailers to reduce Wal-Mart's competitive advantage. Sam Walton was a great entrepreneur, and his relentless quest for efficiency created tremendous improvements in retail trade productivity that have raised America's GDP by hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Millions of Americans have enjoyed higher incomes, expanded consumer choices, and cheaper prices as a result. Certainly there have been losers from this process as well -- small businesses unable to compete with Wal-Mart-- but for every loser there have been many winners. The Wal-Mart revolution, on balance, has improved American lives.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-199) and index
Table of contents: title: Introduction : Wal-Mart and the big-box discount store revolution; title: Wal-Mart and its imitators : saints or sinners?; title: The genesis of the big-box revolution; title: The economic impact of Wal-Mart and other big-box stores; title: What should we do about Wal-Mart?; title: pt. I. Why Wal-Mart matters; title: 1. The importance of retail innovations; title: The economic importance of retail trade; title: The discount revolution and consumer surplus; title: The supply side; title: Spillover effects, or "externalities"; title: Public attitudes concerning retail trade in America; title: Conclusions; title: 2. Wal-Mart and its critics; title: The criticisms; title: The intensity of the rhetoric; title: Who are the critics?; title: Tactics of Wal-Mart's critics : litigation and legislative changes; title: Conclusions; title: pt. II. The Wal-Mart revolution; title: 3. A history of retail innovation in America before Wal-Mart; title: Retailing in America before Wal-Mart; title: Retailing at the beginning of the discount age; title: Conclusions; title: 4. The Wal-Mart story; title: Retail trade growth since 1965 : an overview; title: Sam Walton; title: The growth of Wal-Mart; title: Conclusions; title: 5. Imitators and innovators; title: The rise of big-box stores : Wal-Mart's competitors; title: Discount department stores and supercenters; title: Membership warehouses; title: Specialty big-box stores : home improvement; title: Specialty retailers : consumer electronics; title: Specialty stores : office supplies; title: Other specialty operators; title: The next generation of retailing?; title: Conclusions; title: pt. III. Wal-Mart : good or bad?; title: 6. Employment and wage effects of discount stores; title: Employment in retail trade; title: Employment effects of Wal-Mart; title: Are Wal-Mart workers underpaid?; title: Fringe benefits; title: Conclusions; title: 7. Competition and communities; title: Some analysis of store openings; title: Findings of other scholarly researchers; title: Wal-Mart and its suppliers; title: Conclusions; title: 8. Wal-Mart and the poor; title: Wal-Mart's customers; title: Implications for policy; title: Wal-Mart and public assistance; title: Conclusions; title: 9. The discount revolution in broader economic context; title: Estimating broader economic effects : some issues; title: The big-box discount revolution and productivity change; title: Broader economic effects : social savings of modern discount stores; title: Conclusions; title: pt. IV. The future of Wal-Mart; title: 10. Wal-Mart and the world; title: The rise of big-box stores in Europe; title: International big-box firms; title: International big-box specialty stores; title: International purchasing by big-box operators; title: International labor standards : better life or more poverty?; title: Conclusions; title: 11. Critiquing the critics; title: Assessing the criticisms of Wal-Mart and other big-box discounters; title: Conclusions; title: 12. What should we do about Wal-Mart?; title: Policies relating to employee relations; title: Wal-Mart's impact on communities and the environment; title: Policies regarding globalization and overseas worker standards; title: Should Wal-Mart enter banking?; title: The other side of the coin : subsidizing Wal-Mart or other stores; title: Leveling the playing field : stop subsidizing Wal-Mart's critics; title: Appeasing the unappeasable : Wal-Mart's public relations campaign; title: The future of Wal-Mart and other big-box discounters; title: Conclusions