The effects of Wal-Mart on local labor markets
By: by David Neumark, Junfu Zhang, Stephen Ciccarella.
Contributors: Zhang, Junfu.
Series: Discussion paper -- no. 2545; Discussion paper (Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit : Online) -- no. 2545
Publisher: IZA
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Bonn, Germany
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: Wal-Mart (Firm); Labor market -- United States.
Description: "We estimate the effects of Wal-Mart stores on county-level retail employment and earnings, accounting for endogeneity of the location and timing of Wal-Mart openings that most likely biases the evidence against finding adverse effects of Wal-Mart stores. We address the endogeneity problem using a natural instrumental variables approach that arises from the geographic and time pattern of the opening of Wal-Mart stores, which slowly spread out from the first stores in Arkansas. The employment results indicate that a Wal-Mart store opening reduces county-level retail employment by about 150 workers, implying that each Wal-Mart worker replaces approximately 1.4 retail workers. This represents a 2.7 percent reduction in average retail employment. The payroll results indicate that Wal-Mart store openings lead to declines in county-level retail earnings of about $1.2 million, or 1.3 percent. Of course, these effects occurred against a backdrop of rising retail employment, and only imply lower retail employment growth than would have occurred absent the effects of Wal-Mart"--Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 3/16/2007.

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