Art Carden

Bio: Art Carden is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Spite & Context (language use). The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 8 citations.

Walmart and Values: Painting the Town Red?

Abstract: This essay explores the relationship between commerce and culture in the context of the recent debate over the social effect of Wal-Mart. In spite of much public debate, little is known about how Wal-Mart affects values. Using data collected from multiple sources, we show there is little evidence that Wal-Mart makes communities more conservative or more progressive.

Competing with Costco and Sam's Club: Warehouse Club Entry and Grocery Prices

Abstract: Prior research shows that grocery stores reduce prices to compete with Walmart Supercenters. This study finds evidence that the competitive effects of two other big-box retailers�Costco and Walmart-owned Sam's Club�are quite different. Using city-level panel grocery price data matched with a unique data set on Walmart and warehouse club locations, we find that Costco entry is associated with higher grocery prices at incumbent retailers and that the effect is strongest in cities with small populations and high grocery store densities. This is consistent with incumbents competing with Costco along nonprice dimensions, such as product quality or quality of the shopping experience. We find no evidence that Sam's Club entry affects grocery stores' prices, consistent with Sam's Club's focus on small businesses instead of consumers.

WalMart and Local Economic Development A Survey

Abstract: This article reviews the literature that evaluates WalMart’s impacts on local economies. The authors first describe the methods used to account for potential reverse causality of WalMart’s store lo...

Do Walmart Supercenters Improve Food Security

Abstract: This paper examines the effect that Walmart Supercenters, which lower food prices and expand food availability, have on food insecurity. Data come from the 2001–2012 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplements matched to Walmart Supercenter entry dates and locations. Using instrumental variables models that leverage Walmart’s predictable expansion pattern outward from corporate headquarters, we find that closer proximity to a Walmart Supercenter improves household and child food security, as measured by affirmative responses to a food insecurity questionnaire and an indicator for food insecurity. The effects are largest among low-income households and children but are also sizeable for middle-income children.

Social Capital, Religion, Wal-Mart, and Hate Groups in America*

Abstract: Objective The recent surge in hate group activity is a concern to many citizens and policymakers. We examine the roles of socioeconomic factors measured at the county level that are hypothesized to account for the presence of such groups, including social capital and religious affiliations. Methods We estimate a Poisson regression model using counts of hate groups provided by the Southern Poverty Law Center for each of the over 3,000 U.S. counties. Our regressors include a wider set of variables than has been considered in previous studies, such as Jefferson and Pryor (1999). Results Our approach produces a better statistical fit than that in Jefferson and Pryor's paper, and the additional regressors contribute significantly to our understanding of hate groups. Conclusion Both social capital stocks and religious affiliation exert an independent and statistically significant influence on the number of hate groups, as does the presence of Wal-Mart stores, holding other factors constant.

Big Box Stores and Urban Land Prices: Friend or Foe?

Abstract: Using a spatial difference-in-differences research design, this paper examined the effect of a new Walmart store on nearby U.S. urban land prices and found that, within one quarter mile of a new Walmart store locale, land prices increased by almost 39% over the four-year development time period (from site negotiation to the store opening) compared with land located from one to three miles from the new store site. The analysis found that land prices increased almost geometrically over the development period as information leakage implied that a new store would actually be built and that demand for nearby land would increase. The positive effects were found to dissipate with distance from the new store, suggesting that the Walmart effect is highly localized. The analysis also found that supercenters, as opposed to discount stores, and commercial land sales, as opposed to residential land sales, were instrumental in driving the positive price effects. Also, robustness tests found a positive land price effect with other big-box stores, suggesting that the land price effect was not limited to Walmart stores, but in fact, was a big-box store effect. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved