Retail Market Analysis - Local Costs & Benefits of Wal-MartIn many ways, America has a love-hate relationship with Wal-Mart. The company is revered on Wall Street for its business success and growth. In 2004 Fortune magazine ranked Wal-Mart at the top of the list for its “Most Admired Companies” for the second year in a row. Consumers flock to Wal-Mart stores in search of both real and perceived lower prices and quality selection. Just what are the local costs and benefits of a Wal-Mart store opening up in a community and how are they distributed across the different groups in the community? To consider this question, we review the recent academic literature that has addressed the question of Wal-Mart’s local impacts in one way or another. Here we discuss these findings and their implications for how the costs and benefits are distributed across various groups in the community, including consumers, workers, other businesses and the public sector. DOWNLOADS: Study (*pdf) - Presentation On-line or PowerPoint - Press Release (2/9/6) LINKS:
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