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Wal-Mart's monopsony power in metro and non-metro labor markets

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  • Bonanno, Alessandro
  • Lopez, Rigoberto A.

Abstract

This paper measures the potential degree of monopsony power that Wal-Mart can exert over retail workers using a dominant-firm model and nationwide, county-level data, presenting for the first time a measure of the company's potential anti-competitive behavior and detailed spatial impacts on wages, particularly for metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties. Empirical results show that, at the national level, Wal-Mart's potential wage markdown below the competitive level amounts to less than 3% on average. However, the potential markdowns in non-metropolitan counties are three-fold those in metropolitan counties and are highest in non-metro areas of the south and central states but negligible in northeastern states.

Suggested Citation

  • Bonanno, Alessandro & Lopez, Rigoberto A., 2012. "Wal-Mart's monopsony power in metro and non-metro labor markets," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 569-579.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:42:y:2012:i:4:p:569-579
    DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2012.02.003
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    3. Rebecca Cleary & Rigoberto Lopez, 2014. "Supermarket responses to Wal-Mart Supercenter expansion: a structural approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 905-925, November.
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    5. Stapp, Jacob, 2014. "The Walmart Effect: Labor Market Implications in Rural and Urban Counties," SS-AAEA Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 2014, pages 1-17.
    6. Alessandro Bonanno & Stephan J. Goetz, 2012. "WalMart and Local Economic Development," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 26(4), pages 285-297, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wal-Mart; Wages; Buying Power; Monopsony; Metro; Non-metro;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J42 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Monopsony; Segmented Labor Markets
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

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