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Does Wal-Mart Sell Inferior Goods?

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Author Info
Emek Basker () (Department of Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia)

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Abstract

I estimate the aggregate income elasticity of Wal-Mart's and Target's revenues using quarterly data for 1997-2006. I find that Wal-Mart's revenues increase during bad times, whereas Target's revenues decrease, consistent with Wal-Mart selling "inferior goods" in the technical sense of the term. An upper bound on the aggregate income elasticity of demand for Wal-Mart's wares is -0.5.

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File URL: http://economics.missouri.edu/working-papers/2008/WP0805_basker.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Department of Economics, University of Missouri in its series Working Papers with number 0805.

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Length: 16 pgs.
Date of creation: 29 Apr 2008
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Publication status: forthcoming
Handle: RePEc:umc:wpaper:0805

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Related research
Keywords: Retail; Wal-Mart; Target; Inferior Goods;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Judith A. Chevalier & Anil K Kashyap & Peter E. Rossi, 2003. "Why Don't Prices Rise During Periods of Peak Demand? Evidence from Scanner Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 15-37, March. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Emek Basker, 2007. "When Good Instruments Go Bad," Working Papers 0706, Department of Economics, University of Missouri. [Downloadable!]
  3. Emek Basker & Shawn Klimek & Pham Hoang Van, 2008. "Supersize It: The Growth of Retail Chains and the Rise of the "Big Box" Retail Format," Working Papers 0809, Department of Economics, University of Missouri. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Michael Noel & Emek Basker, 2007. "The Evolving Food Chain: Competitive Effects of Wal-Mart's Entry Into The Supermarket Industry," University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series 2007-03, Department of Economics, UC San Diego. [Downloadable!]
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  5. David Neumark & Junfu Zhang & Stephen Ciccarella, 2005. "The Effects of Wal-Mart on Local Labor Markets," NBER Working Papers 11782, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Levy, Daniel, et al, 1997. "The Magnitude of Menu Costs: Direct Evidence from Large U.S. Supermarket Chains," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 112(3), pages 791-825, August.
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  7. Emek Basker & Pham Hoang Van, 2007. "Wal-Mart as Catalyst to U.S.-China Trade," Working Papers 0710, Department of Economics, University of Missouri. [Downloadable!]
  8. Paul W. Dobson & Michael Waterson, 2005. "Chain-Store Pricing Across Local Markets," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 14(1), pages 93-119, 03. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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