The Wal-Mart revolution

Wal-Mart and other big-box discount retailers such as Target or Home Depot have been vilified as selfish retailers that mistreat their workers, outsource American jobs, uproot communities, and harm the poor. Others, however, argue that these stories have improved Americans' standard of living, especially among the less affluent. Which of these competing visions is correct? Is Wal-Mart a ford for good or evil? Is it a saint of a sinner? In the Wal-Mart Revolution, Richard Vedder and Wendell Cox present a comprehensive and balanced account of the dramatic changes, transforming American retailing. Vedder and Cox analyze the best available economic data and conclude that American consumers -- particularly the less affluent --^ have benefited tremendously from Wal-Mart's "everyday low prices"; American consumers save tens of billions of dollars annually from the lower prices that Wal-Mart and other big-box retailers offer. Wal-Mart has also been a generally good employer, paying competitive market wages and offering fringe benefits (including health care) roughly comparable to other retailers. New Wal-Mart stores benefit local communities by boosting employment and income levels while providing local consumers lower prices and expanded product choices. Opposition to Wal-Mart is the latest chapter in a long history of resistance to retail innovation in America. In the late nineteenth century, local retailers complained about mail order competitors such as Sears, Roebuck. In the 1920s and 1930s, small grocery stores bitterly fought the growth of chain groceries like the A & P.^ Today, anti-Wal-Mart forces use zoning laws, mandatory health insurance requirements, and higher minimum wag requirements for large retailers to reduce Wal-Mart's competitive advantage. Sam Walton was a great entrepreneur, and his relentless quest for efficiency created tremendous improvements in retail trade productivity that have raised America's GDP by hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Millions of Americans have enjoyed higher incomes, expanded consumer choices, and cheaper prices as a result. Certainly there have been losers from this process as well -- small businesses unable to compete with Wal-Mart-- but for every loser there have been many winners. The Wal-Mart revolution, on balance, has improved American lives.