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Evaluating the impact of Sunday trading deregulation

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  • Danchev, Svetoslav
  • Genakos, Christos

Abstract

During the past few decades a number of European countries lifted the regulations that restricted the opening hours of shops on Sunday. In this paper we examine the impact of Sunday trade deregulation on employment, expenditure, prices and market structure using a difference-in-difference empirical framework and data from 30 European countries over the period 1999-2013. The results exhibit significant heterogeneity across products and sectors. We find robust evidence of a positive overall impact on employment. Expenditure also increases, but not for all retail product categories. We find no evidence of a significant impact on prices. Our findings have important policy implications, particularly for governments that try to combat high unemployment in the aftermath of the economic crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Danchev, Svetoslav & Genakos, Christos, 2015. "Evaluating the impact of Sunday trading deregulation," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 61156, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:61156
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/61156/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Aleksandra Grzesiuk, 2021. "Sunday Trading Ban in Poland: Reflection After Three Years," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 3), pages 233-242.
    2. Mai Yamada, 2019. "Business Hours, Store Quality, and Social Welfare," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 465-478, September.
    3. Dominique Goux & Eric Maurin, 2022. "Who will work on Sunday? The winners and losers of Sunday laws relaxation," PSE Working Papers halshs-03884675, HAL.
    4. Marta Borowska-Stefańska & Michał Kowalski & Paulina Kurzyk & Alireza Sahebgharani & Szymon Wiśniewski, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Changeability of the Load of the Urban Road Transport System under Permanent and Short-Term Legal and Administrative Retail Restrictions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-30, April.
    5. Borowska-Stefańska, Marta & Dulebenets, Maxim A. & Horňák, Marcel & Kowalski, Michał & Kozłowski, Dominik & Turoboś, Filip & Wiśniewski, Szymon, 2023. "Assessing the effects of Sunday shopping restrictions on urban mobility patterns in Poland," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sunday trading regulation; opening hours regulation; retail sector;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

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